Here There Be Demons
by Idunnowhy
Summary: Sequel to "Out from Under." She and Jake tied the knot, but now Bella has a secret. Edward has a girlfriend. Embry's being a jerk. Jaz and Quil just can't get it together. And now something's stalking the children of La Push...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As always, all Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, and the only thing I'm getting paid for this is the pleasure of being able to share my over-active imagination with all of you. Now on with the show…**

**Quil**

'Why don't wolves eat lawyers? Professional courtesy!'

Jacob and I groaned in unison as the immature jerk standing next to us cackled with glee.

'That's sharks, dumbass, and if you don't knock it off with the cheesy wolf jokes I'm going to be forced to teach you the meaning of the phrase _equal opportunity predator_.'

I nipped at Seth's flank for good measure, but the insolent little snot just wagged his tail and danced out of the way.

'Hey man, gotta keep my wit together and my lines sharp for the laaaaaadies.'

Jake gave a disparaging snort.

'The only lady you're going to be impressing with that lame line is your mama, and that's only because she thinks you're so darn cute.'

'Man, you don't know jack about my mama.'

My ears perked up. Had he really just gone there? Man, the kid made it so easy it wasn't even fair.

'That's not what yo mama said last night.'

Two seconds later Jake's wolf slammed into me, sending both of us slipping and sliding across the wet morning grass.

'Shut the fuck up, Quil.'

Seth's laughter roared in my head as I sunk my teeth into Jake's ear, wincing when he dug his hind legs into my gut and sent me flying. That one actually hurt. Maybe I should have thought about the fact that I was talking about Sue Clearwater before I opened my fat mouth.

'Hey dude, don't disembowel me just because his old lady's living in sin with your old lady's old man. The kid walked right into it!'

Dead silence hung in the air as Jake's lips curled back, flashing fang as he slunk low to the ground. Shit. This was gonna be painful. I really needed to learn to think before I speak.

Don't get me wrong. I like Sue, and I was really glad things with Charlie were working out. I know Bella and Seth were a little creeped out by the fact that their parents were living together, but I thought it was cool. Hell, hadn't I hauled a half a ton of sh…ah, stuff…to her new house just yesterday? More importantly, like every other young Quileute lad that had ever hung out with Seth or given more than a passing thought to dating the lovely Leah back before she and Sam were joined at the hip, I feared Sue. A lot. Factor in the fact that Charlie had a gun, and the fact that Emmett Cullen (whose ass I was pretty sure I could kick but would undoubtedly deal out plenty of pain in the process) worked for Charlie, and I really should have known better. But hey, Seth had been getting too big for his britches lately. Somebody needed to knock the kid down a few pegs, and I was just the wolf to do it.

'I'm not saying I disagree with you-about Seth, that is, not Sue, I'm not that stupid-but Bella's gonna make my life a living hell if I let that slide.'

Man, alpha wolf or not, our fearless leader was so _whipped_. Then again, he'd been panting after Bella's heels since we were 16, so that wasn't exactly news.

'Hey, one of these days you'll get it man. That's if you can find a woman that'll have you after I'm done roughing up that pretty face of yours.'

He hiked his haunches up in the air, and I braced for impact. Completely focused on Jake, I didn't even hear Seth coming until he plowed into me, tearing his claws into my side, fangs sinking into the ruff of my neck and shaking playfully before he launched himself off my back and raced into the woods. Jake was howling with laughter when I stood up, shaking myself and grimacing at the blood-stained grass in disgust. Oh, it was so on.

I hadn't gone five steps when another voice plunged into my head, so thick with panic, pain and terror that it took me a minute to figure out what it was trying to say.

'Help me! Help me help me help me help me!'

Shit. That was Sam Jr. My eyes met Jacob's and we moved in perfect synchrony, tearing across the grass to where the little boy's cries had come from. Deep in the woods (man, that kid could book!) I knew Seth was doing the same thing.

Sam Jr., Sam and Emily's oldest son, was an anomaly even in the already oh-so-freaky world of vampires, magic, shapeshifters and things that go bump in the night. At 7 years old, less than half the age I was when I first went wolf, he could already phase back and forth at will. Jaz and Dr. Fang thought it was because of Sam's strong wolf genes and the fact that he'd been around the Cullens his entire life. (The hot blond was even his babysitter. Vampire or not, I was pretty sure I'd never gotten that lucky.) His parents were just glad he'd done it without the massive growth spurt the rest of us had had right before we phased. He still got to be a little boy, just one that tended to go furry when his mother decided he'd hit his daily quota of G.I. Joe.

Seth caught up with us about halfway to the cliffs at First Beach, the place where Sam Jr. had first been when he hollered for help. Nine times out of ten I hated the pack mind and the complete lack of privacy that went with it, but at moments like this I was grateful for it. We found Sam Jr. curled up at the edge of the cliffs where Bella had decided to go cliff diving years ago, back when she and Jake were still dancing around each other trying to get their shit straight, before she tossed him over for the leech (the first time). My nostrils cringed when I approached the small body, and it was all I could do to make myself keep walking. Sam Jr. smelled…bad. Really bad. Then I saw the bone gleaming through the blackened gash running across his ribs and my heart stopped. Sam Jr. had the same healing superpowers as the rest of us, something Sam and Emily had had reason to be grateful for more than once. The putrid stench, coupled with the fact that it was still laid wide open and wasn't showing any signs of healing, told me something was very, very wrong.

'Quil, go get Carlisle.'

Jake's voice was grim. The little boy was staring up at us, his eyes pleading for one of us to make it better. Without a word I wheeled around, plunging through the trees toward the giant house at the edge of the woods. With Sam Jr.'s screams still echoing in my head I ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at my heels, which, considering what I was, was pretty damn fast. In minutes I had crossed the reservation, breaking through the trees surrounding the border of La Push and diving into the clearing at Vampire Central.

Ducking behind a tree to phase, I pulled on my shorts on the fly as I crossed the lawn to the massive white house the Cullens had built when they'd first moved here a couple of years ago. The place twisted and turned ('meandered', Bella would have said), the glassed in walls to what Dr. Fang referred to as the 'family wings' running in a backwards "U" down either side of what I knew was a fenced in backyard, loaded with playground and climbing equipment for the pack puppies mother Esme and the blond vixen babysat on a regular basis. The front of the house doubled as the local clinic, and as I burst through the front doors I was glad to see the waiting room was empty.

"Quil! What's going on?"

Jazmine-excuse me, Dr. Briscoe-looked up in surprise from the paperwork she was filling out behind the front desk. Even with her crisp white lab coat and the stethoscope hanging around her neck, she didn't look like anyone's idea of a doctor. At 5 foot nothing, with a heavy spatter of freckles across her nose and the thick red curls she kept pulled back in a ponytail so the kids wouldn't get their hands tangled in it, she looked about 17 years old, not the 27 I knew her to be.

"Where's Carlisle?"

Her eyes widened at the urgency in my tone.

"He's out making a house call. Mrs. Newton's angina is acting up again, and he had to go convince her she wasn't having a heart attack. What happened?"

"It's Sam Jr., and it's bad. Really bad. Something laid him open all down the side, and it's not closing back up."

Jaz frowned, dropping the papers in her hand and reaching under the desk to pull up the giant leather bag with the wolf's head on it. I couldn't help but smirk every time I saw it. It was the med kit she and Dr. Fang kept packed for pack emergencies, because if we were coming to get them it meant something had happened that our own natural healing wouldn't touch. (That usually meant that a Band-Aid wasn't going to cut it.) Bag in hand, she bustled out from behind the counter.

"Let's go."

If you had told me back when I first phased that I'd be playing taxi, much less that I'd enjoy it, I'd have told you that you were insane. But this wasn't the first time I'd had Jaz perched on my back, fingers twisting in my fur as we dodged the trees and bushes at what, to her, had to be a blinding speed, and I had to admit, it was kind of nice. Not that I'd ever admit that out loud. If anyone got any inkling that I actually _enjoyed_ toting people around, the kids at the rez would have a bit in my mouth and a saddle on my back before I knew what hit me.

'Too late.'

Damn it.

We'd barely come to a skidding stop at the top of the cliff when Jaz went sliding off my back, racing over to where Sam Jr. lay, his breathing labored, his eyes glazed with pain.

"He's in shock." Grimly, Jaz reached in her pack and pulled out a vial and hypodermic that I knew all too well. "Has anyone told Sam or Emily yet?"

Since none of us could answer her in wolf form (there were moments when I actually missed having the mind reading leech around) Jake jogged off into the trees, snapping up his jeans when he stepped back out a minute later.

"No, Sam's at that thing. I sent Seth to go get Emily and take her to your place." He nodded at Sam Jr. "You think a vampire did this?"

Slipping the hypodermic behind his shoulder and into his ribs, Jazmine frowned down at the little wolf.

"I honestly don't know. It doesn't look like vampires, but since most of the time you wolves can take a lickin' and keep on tickin' vampire venom makes the most sense. It's the only thing I know that can override your own natural immune system, which would explain why it hasn't started to heal yet."

Reaching back into her bag she pulled out a pair of gloves and a container of something that smelled even fouler than the stench rolling off Sam Jr. Unscrewing the lid, she started packing it into his wound.

"Ugh." Jake's head snapped back. "What the hell is that?"

"It's a Musa paradisiacal tincture, an herbal anti-venom I've been playing with for surface wounds like these. Hopefully it'll help speed up the healing process." She screwed the top back on and stood up, frowning. "I really don't like the way he's breathing. I need to get him back in human form and hooked up to some monitors, but I can't do that here. Can one of you carry him back?"

Jake looked over at me and I nodded. Without a word he picked up the little wolf cub and draped him across my back, then ducked back behind the trees. A second later his wolf came trotting back out to belly up to Jaz. I waited for her to hop on his back, then the four of us raced back through the woods to the clinic where we'd hopefully find the equipment we'd need to save Sam Jr.'s life.

Emily was waiting for us when we got there. Her hand clamped down on Seth's when Jake stepped through the doors, Sam Jr.'s unconscious human body stretched out in his arms. I hesitated, torn between avoiding the horror of the damage done to that tiny, mangled body and seeing if Jaz needed any help dealing with the wolf without Carlisle there. But Jake was with her, and as alpha he could do more to keep Sam Jr. under control than I could. I went over and sat down next to Emily.

"What happened?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and the fear in her eyes said she really didn't want to know. Unfortunately, I didn't have any answers for her.

"I don't know. We were on patrol early this morning and we heard him yelling. We found him at the top of the cliffs on First Beach."

Emily closed her eyes.

"Damn Sam straight to hell," she snarled. "He and Sam Jr. went up there yesterday. Sam told him he'd take him looking for treasure when he got home today. I guess he decided he didn't want to wait."

"How did he get up there in the first place?" I wasn't touching Sam's eternal damnation with a ten foot pole, but I knew Emily usually kept a tight leash on the boys when he wasn't home. Having kids that can outrun a Mac truck will do that to you.

"He snuck out this morning while I was making breakfast. I was outside looking for him when Seth showed up."

"Where's Abram?"

She nodded a weary head toward the back of the house.

"Esme heard him fussing when we got here. When I told her you were bringing Sam Jr. in, she said she'd keep him until we knew what was going on."

"That was…nice," I said awkwardly. Even after all this time I still wasn't used to thinking of the bloodsuckers as anything other than our mortal enemies. Complimenting one of them on her maternal instincts just felt….wrong.

Emily grew silent. I knew she was worried about Sam Jr., and I really, really wished Sam was here instead of representing the tribe at some conference in Seattle. You wanted a vampire dead, I was your guy. Your car's engine had a glitch, just pick up the phone. You need someone to soothe a worried mother whose seven year old had snuck out of the house and been ripped up by something we'd never seen before, and I was totally out of my depth.

Seth squeezed her hand and looked at me a little desperately. Fortunately, we were both saved from having to come up with something to say when Dr. Fang walked in the door. He frowned when he saw the three of us sitting in his waiting room.

"Jaz and Jake have Sam Jr.," I said, nodding my head down the hall. Without a word he strode toward the examining room, leaving the three of us sitting there to wait.

Time ticks by unbearably slowly when you're sitting in a doctor's waiting room watching bad tv. I was pretty sure the clock had actually started crawling backwards by the time Jaz and Dr. Fang appeared an hour later, Jacob standing behind them. Emily clutched my hand as she stood, and I realized she was about to cry. I didn't need her to ask the question that was coming. I could tell just by looking at their grim faces that it wasn't going to be good.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Jaz walked over to her, eyes dripping with sympathy as she reached out and squeezed her hands.

"We don't know, Em. We just don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Jaz**

I loved everything about being a doctor. I'd loved the sleepless nights through med school. I'd loved the double shifts in the ER during my residency. I even loved the mornings I had to drag myself in and chug enough coffee to kill an elephant to bring my blood caffeine level to something resembling viable for life because I'd been out on house calls until the wee hours of the morning. I suspected it didn't matter how long I practiced, however, I was never going to get used to the horror and heartbreak in a parent's face when I told them there was a chance their child wasn't going to make it.

Emily's eyes had filled with tears when I'd delivered the verdict. I wished I had better news for her, I really did, but the bottom line was that even after a second dose of anti-venom and an infusion of the wolf blood Carlisle and I kept stocked in the blood bank, just in case, Sam Jr. still wasn't healing. Worse, whatever it was seemed to be hitting his lungs. He was hooked up to a respirator for now, but I wasn't going to be able to leave him there forever. Sooner or later his wolf was going to wake up, and it was not going to be happy.

We needed answers, and we needed them now.

"We need some answers." Carlisle's voice was grim as he stood over my shoulder, peering down at the chart in my hands. It was unnerving, the way he could echo my thoughts like that. "Whatever this is, it's like nothing we've ever seen before. Perhaps we should consider sending him to Seattle."

It was such a blatantly stupid comment that all I could do was gape.

"Have you lost your mind?"I finally managed to choke out. "You want to send a predatory shapeshifter with an undiagnosed condition that may or may not snap and decide to eat the nursing staff at any given moment to a public hospital in Seattle?"

He sighed, dragging a hand over his face.

"You're right. It's a horrible idea. But we simply don't have the facilities to treat him here. This shouldn't be happening. We're not prepared. If we sent him to Max…"

He trailed off, and I saw instantly where he was going with this. Max-Don't-Call-Me-Maxine-or-I'll-Punch-You-in-the-Face Donovan had been my roommate all through college and was currently working with a research group in Seattle. She was absolutely brilliant, and she had access to resources Carlisle and I could only dream of. We'd sent her patients in the past whose conditions were beyond what we could handle here, but this…

"It's not safe to send him to Seattle right now, but I have it on good authority that Max has the next two days off. Why don't I see if she'll come in for a consult?"

Carlisle nodded, looking down at the little boy on the bed.

"That would be a good idea…but I'll call her. You're dead on your feet."

Glancing at the clock in surprise, I realized it was well after 10 o'clock at night. Jacob had brought Sam Jr. in at 8 o'clock that morning. Somehow, between keeping track of Sam Jr.'s condition and the regular ebb and flow of patients, the hours had flown by without me noticing. Now that I thought about it, I was both exhausted and starving, and just for a moment I envied Carlisle the immortality that would let him stay up all night with little Sam without looking like a zombie the next day.

"Esme will be here if I need an extra set of hands," he reassured me, plucking the chart out of my fingers and placing a firm hand on my shoulders to steer me toward the door, "and I have no doubt Sam, Emily and half the pack will be on my doorstep tomorrow morning. We'll be fine. Eat, then get a good night's sleep. I'm going to need you in fit, fighting form tomorrow."

"All right, all right," I grumbled teasingly, heading toward the door. "I can see where I'm not wanted."

Carlisle chuckled behind me.

"Want and need, my dear. It's the difference between want and need."

I was smiling when I stepped out into the waiting room, only to stop dead in my tracks when I saw Quil, sound asleep on the hard plastic seats. My heart gave a quick, involuntary sigh. He was so cute in his sleep, when the stress of the day finally melted away. He had a tendency to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I knew this situation with Sam Jr. would hit him hard.

Two years before I'd met him, Quil had lost his imprint to meningitis-a death that could have been avoided if there'd been a doctor on the reservation, something I had often suspected had had a great deal to do with why he'd advocated so hard for the pack to allow Carlisle to set up shop where he did. Sam Jr. was three years older than Claire had been, but I knew he had to be feeling for Emily right now.

You could hardly tell the man stretched out in front of me was the same heartsick, heartbroken boy I'd met all those years ago. Still tied to his dead mate, his soul had been slowly but surely fading away. Jake and Sam were amazing alphas, and I loved both of them dearly, but having grown up believing the stories of the shapeshifters were just myths they'd been pretty clueless about the whole thing. I still flinched when I remembered how I'd accused Jacob of trying to kill Quil the first time I'd met him. After knocking him unconscious, of course. He never would let me live that down.

Having grown up with the Mojave people, the majority of whom were shapeshifters of one kind of another, I was more fluent in shapeshifter history than the Quileute tribe seemed to be. That had turned out to be good news for Quil. With his soul disentangled he'd been able to get back to living his life, and I'd thrilled to see him learning how to smile and laugh again. He'd even done some of that smiling and laughing with me, and we'd enjoyed a friendship with certain…benefits over the years. Strictly casual, of course. As shaman his wolf had to listen when I spoke, and it really hated that. While it was willing to be friendly-really friendly-it wasn't willing to consider anything permanent. Which meant I was just his go-to girl until somebody more appropriate came along.

I was good with that. Really.

"Hey." I reached down, lightly shaking his shoulder and ignoring the little skip in my stomach when his chocolate eyes fluttered open. "What are you still doing here?"

He blinked hazily, glancing around the abandoned waiting room as he stood up and stretched.

"I was waiting for you. Esme told Emily when she went back to pick up the squirt that you'd been here all day. I figured I'd wait around and see if you wanted to grab something to eat before you crashed out for the night."

"You know what? Food sounds amazing." I smiled sleepily, walking around the reception desk to grab the huge bag that Quil swore held everything but the kitchen sink. "What did you have in mind?"

His eyes flicked over me briefly, and I flushed at the thought of what he'd see. My hair had long since started tumbling down, the little makeup I bothered with on days I saw patients was long gone and my clothes were wrinkled from getting stuffed in a locker when I threw on my surgical scrubs earlier. I wasn't a beauty queen on my best day, and tonight…well, let's just say today wasn't my best day. Quil was a whole 6 foot something of tall, muscled gorgeousness, and I always flinched when we went out in public and caught the looks people tossed our way. You could almost hear them asking, "Who's that, and what's he doing with _her_?"

"I was going to suggest the diner, but you look done in," he said finally, yanking my mind back off those forbidden roads and back into the present. "Why don't we just head back to your place?"

"Are you cooking? Because I gotta tell ya, working a stove is somewhere beneath a massive cardiac infarction and a root canal on my list of things to do tonight."

Quil chuckled, giving me that warm, slightly patronizing lopsided grin that never failed to make me want to hug him.

"I think," he began, throwing his arm over my shoulder and steering me toward the door, "that there's a half a bowl of spaghetti on the bottom shelf of your fridge that could be made edible with the assistance of a capable mechanic and a functional microwave."

"Oh, were you planning on bringing Jake? Because I'm not sure we'll have enough to eat."

"Smartass."

He affectionately palmed my face with the hand he'd tossed over my shoulders before walking over to the other side of my massive Expedition, waiting patiently for me to unlock the door. Then slightly less patiently as I fumbled through my purse, trying to keep my eyes open long enough to dig out my keys, which had somehow been swallowed by the cavernous black hole that held the pieces of my life. Finally he sighed in exasperation, swinging over the hood in one of those supernatural shows of strength that I never quite got used to and snatching the bag out of my hand. Two seconds later my keys were shining in the glow of the Cullens' exterior lights.

"I think maybe I should drive. If you can't find your keys in your purse, I'm terrified to ask what'll happen if I ask you to find the road."

The statement was punctuated by a melodramatic shudder. Shaking my head, I walked around the hood of the giant SUV, hopping a couple of times before swinging myself up into the passenger seat. Under normal circumstances I would argue, but this day had been far from normal. It felt good to hand the keys, both literally and figuratively, over to someone else for a while.

"When are you going to trade this thing in for something more your size?"

"Hmmm?"

I realized that I had started to doze off and turned my head, looking at him through bleary eyes. The corner of Quil's lips twitched, and the next thing I knew my head was nestled on his shoulder and his fingers were stroking the back of my neck.

"I asked when you were going to trade this beast in for something more your size. You can barely get in it, and I'm not even going to ask whether or not you can actually see over the dashboard."

"Har de har har."

The truth was, he was right. The truck really was too big for me. But I had bought it because he, Jacob and Embry wouldn't have fit into anything smaller, and I was used to it now. That didn't mean I was going to tell him that.

The blasting warmth from his body and the chill from the AC blended with the roar of the engine to lull me into a dreamless sleep. When I woke up Quil was hopping effortlessly down to the ground in front of my front steps. A moment later the passenger door swung open, and Quil stood there with his arms outstretched and a knowing smirk on his face.

"All right micro-Sleeping Beauty, down you come."

"You're just jealous because at your advanced height you're more likely to have bird poo in your hair than I am."

I was struggling for dignity as he lifted me out of the seat like a child, setting me down on the ground and letting me go far too soon.

"Nah, birds give me a wide berth. Probably afraid I'll eat them. You, on the other hand, practically have a bull's eye painted on top of your head with all that red hair."

"First my height, then my hair," I grumbled, snatching the keys out of his hand and walking over to unlock the door. "Anything else you want to hate on tonight?"

Shaking his head, he walked past me into the darkened interior. "No, I think I'm good for now."

A few seconds later the sounds of someone looting through my refrigerator filled the house, followed by a triumphant, "Found it!" I grinned as I laid my keys and bag down on the end table, walking over to check my messages while he heated up the leftovers. Telemarketer, telemarketer, campaign speech, telemarketer. Junk. I was just getting ready to walk away when the next message stopped me cold.

"Jaz? It's Bella." Someone sniffled, and I had the very, very bad feeling she had been crying on the other end of that line. "I really need to talk to you. Don't tell Jake or Quil, okay? Oh hell, wait, you're probably still at the clinic with Sam Jr. Nevermind. It's just…nevermind." Another wet, wobbly sniffle, and then she hung up the phone.

Damn it. I needed to call her back, but she'd explicitly said not to tell Jake or Quil, which probably precluded calling her while the aforementioned was standing in my kitchen. A quick glance at the clock told me that she was probably already in bed anyway. Jacob's 5 am mornings at the shop and Billy's propensity for early rising usually had her up at the crack of dawn and in bed before the last episode of Jeopardy. I'd give her a call in the morning before I went in to work.

"Your dinner, m'lady."

The scent of spaghetti wafted past my nose, and I turned to see Quil standing in the doorway to the kitchen wearing the ridiculous chef's hat he'd bought me for Halloween the year before and my favorite apron, which looked like a bib on his gigantic frame. Giggling, I followed him over to the table.

"Candlelight? Quil, you shouldn't have…really." I arched an eyebrow at him. "You know, _most_ women would be offended if someone lit Citronella candles at their kitchen table."

Quil looked hurt. "What? I thought they'd set the mood."

"That you want me to buzz off? Mood coming through loud and clear, my friend. Mood coming through loud and clear."

With a chuckle he blew out the candles, and we tucked into the spaghetti in companionable silence. That was one of the things I loved about having Quil around. He may have been an incorrigible smartass, but somehow he always seemed to understand when I needed him to just be quiet for a while. When we were done he helped me wash up the dinner dishes, flicking soap bubbles in my face until I was laughing so hard I forgot I was tired.

"So, Dr. Briscoe," he drawled when we were done, reaching out to wrap his arms loosely around my waist. "There's this problem I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." He leered down at me, and I couldn't help myself. Sliding my hands up his arms, taking a moment to appreciate (as a doctor and a woman) the fine muscle tone of his biceps, I stood on tiptoe so I could wrap my arms around his neck. "I think I'm going to need a full body scan."

"Quil Ateara, are you asking me to come play doctor with you?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

With that his head dipped down and he caught my lips with his, pulling me tightly against his chest so I could feel every hard ridge of muscle behind his damp t-shirt. A flash of heat made me moan and I arched into him, lightly tracing my tongue along the edge of his mouth before biting down on his bottom lip. His breath stuttered, and I smiled.

"I think I'm going to need you to head on up to my exam room and take off all your clothes," I said in my best professional voice. He grinned, lust burning in his eyes as he grabbed my hand and tugged me toward my bedroom at the top of the stairs.

"Why doctor, I thought you'd never ask."

Those were the last words spoken for quite a while.

When we were finished we were both sweaty and breathless. Quil leaned over, placing a long, leisurely kiss on my lips before bouncing out of bed and going searching for his clothes. I smiled sleepily, snuggling into my pillow to watch him hop around the room. He really did have a very excellent backside. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him to stay, but I stopped myself. He'd just come up with an excuse, and I didn't want to make him have to lie to me. We'd danced this dance before.

And if my bed felt cold and lonely after he left, carefully locking the door behind him…well, that was my problem, not his.


	3. Chapter 3

**Quil**

Damn it, I'd fallen asleep with the tv on again. No…wait…I was still in my room. The tv was downstairs. And the god-awful howling that had yanked me out of a happy dream featuring Mariah Carey and a big pile of s'mores wasn't some late-night horror show. Well, okay, it was, but it wasn't a cheap tv special, and I was pretty sure if I tried to turn it off the idiot would just eat my remote.

Yanking on a pair of pants, I glared at the clock. 3 am, which meant I'd gotten a whole hour of sleep after getting back from Jaz's place. Somebody better be dying.

Then I remembered Sam Jr. and immediately felt like an ass. Jerking up the window, I hopped down to the ground, yanked my pants back off and tied them to my ankle, then phased. If I was lucky, I'd be able to shut Colin up before he woke up Andy. She was about as pleasant in the morning as a rattlesnake with a canker sore on a good day. After being dragged out of bed by pack business in the middle of the night…

It didn't bear thinking about.

A minute later, I wasn't sure why I'd bothered. There was Embry, standing with Sam, Jake and the rest of the pack in the hollow right behind the house he and his new bride had built (and badgered me into moving into) a couple of months after their wedding. If Embry was here, Andy was already up, which meant we were both better off sweet talking Bella out of some breakfast than trying to go home when Sam got through with us.

'Bout time your ass got here. Where the hell have you been all night?'

'Physical therapy, man.'

Tongue lolling out of my mouth, I panted heavily at Seth. He rolled his eyes in disgust.

'You're a pig.'

'Takes one to know one, brat.'

'Knock it off, you two. I'm too tired for this crap tonight.'

We both snapped to attention at the sound of Sam's voice. I felt sorry for the guy. Even in wolf form, he looked absolutely beat.

'How's Sam Jr.?'

Sam winced, and I immediately drew two pictures out of his mind; one of little Sam, lying still and unconscious in his hospital bed at the Cullens', and one of Emily beating him over the head with a frying pan before she kicked him out of the house.

'Ouch. She's just scared, man. You know it wasn't your fault. No one could have known the kid would take off like that.'

He chuffed.

'Doesn't make me feel any better about it. If I hadn't taken him up there he wouldn't have gone back on his own, and he'd be safe in bed instead of half dead and hooked up to a bunch of machines.' He shuddered. 'We need to catch this thing. We need to catch it, and we need to kill it, before it can do this to anyone else.'

'Sure you're up to it?'

Sam's lips curled back, showing off an impressive pair of canines. All righty then. A-monster hunting we go.

'We know it hunts on the cliffs, so let's start there.'

The agitated alpha paced restlessly, and I glanced quickly at the younger members of the pack. If Sam got too worked up they would too, and a worked up newbie tended to leave lots of blood and death behind. Fortunately, they seemed to be doing just fine.

'Jacob, I want you, Quil, Seth and Colin to go up to where you found Sam Jr. this morning. See if you can catch a trail. The rest of us are going to split up and pair off, see if we come across anything unusual. This thing is nasty, so if you find it, tail it and wait for the rest of the pack. No one takes it on alone, you got that?'

Sure, sure. Let's go kick some ass already. Jake looked over at me, his eyes gleaming gold in the moonlight, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. This thing had taken out a kid. Ripping it to pieces would be a pure pleasure.

A wolf's nose is designed for one thing and one thing only: Tracking its prey. That we couldn't find a trail to follow off of the cliffs was virtually unheard of. That we couldn't find a scent at all, except for the lightly lingering, putrid funk Sam Jr. left behind and the warm, woodsy smell we all associated with pack, was inconceivable. The four of us ran in circles for over an hour, lapping the spot to see if there was something we'd missed, but as the sun climbed in the sky we had to tell Sam it was a bust. No one else had found anything either, and it was an unhappy pack of wolves that turned around and geared up to head back to La Push.

We were jogging off the cliffs when I felt an unfamiliar crunching underneath my feet. It was so faint I probably would have missed it if I hadn't been happily zoning out on the pad of my paws against the soft grass, dreaming about my first cup of coffee and wondering if Bella had any bacon. Coming back around, I stuck my nose down and sniffed suspiciously. Was that….kitty litter?

Interesting. I didn't know what it meant, but it was interesting.

Half an hour later we were sitting at Jake's kitchen table, digging into massive plates of bacon and eggs while we entertained the toddler happily banging his spoon on the tray of his high chair. God bless Bella. She must have known Embry and I weren't going to get fed at home, because she'd made enough to feed an army.

"Bella, when are you going to leave Jake and run away with me?"

My eyes closed blissfully as I bit into one of the muffins she'd just plopped on the table. I'd been teasing her about it for years, since everyone knew I'd starve to death if I had to cook for myself, so it took me by surprise when her face paled. Scooping up Billy, she snapped off the stove and walked out of the room without a word. A few seconds later we heard the front door slam, followed by the roar of an engine as it pulled away.

I stared after her, speechless.

"Dude, what's up with Bella?"

Embry sounded as lost as I was.

"Nothing."

Jake was staring intently at his eggs, but it was impossible to miss the way he'd flinched when she'd slammed that door behind her. Come to think of it, she'd barely spoken a word to him since we got back. Since their usual morning routine came complete with plenty of tonsil hockey and was enough to give you a toothache, I couldn't help but wonder. I'd heard the message she'd left on Jaz's answering machine last night (hard to miss when you're standing in the next room and you _literally_ have ears like a wolf) but I hadn't thought much of it. She and Jaz were thick as thieves, and as much as I loved her, Bella was more emotional than most. I figured it was a chick thing.

Sounded like that chick thing spelled out trouble in paradise.

"Hey dude, we know how it is. They're up, they're down. One minute they can't keep their hands off you, the next you feel like a maggot just for being in the same room. If you and Bella are fighting, we get it."

Embry's voice was almost too nonchalant, and the way he wouldn't meet our eyes made me suspect we weren't talking about Jake anymore. Damn. I would never say I was glad Claire died-her absence was like a festering wound that had never quite healed right-but life was so much less complicated when you took this freaky supernatural mating shit out of the equation.

"We're not fighting!" Jake slammed his fork down, glaring at the two of us. I raised my eyebrows at him and he sighed, scraping his chair back away from the table so he could tilt back against the wall. "I wish we were, to tell you the truth. It would be easier than this…whatever the hell this is."

He scrubbed his hands up and down his face, talking through his fingers.

"She's been nervous as a scalded cat for the past month. I walk into a room, she makes an excuse and walks out of it. I ask her what's going on, she says 'nothing' with this fake ass smile, then changes the subject. She's crying in the shower just about every morning. And I can't count how many times she's slipped out of bed and out the back door to talk to someone on her cell phone in the middle of the night."

Oh boy.

"You don't think she's fooling around, do you?"

I braced myself, expecting Jake to fly out of his seat and knock me into the floor for suggesting Bella might be cheating on him. It was par for the course; the guy tended to get violent when you started dissing on his wife. I respected that. What I didn't expect was the look of weary resignation I actually got.

"I don't know what to think, Quil." His hands folded under his nose, his eyes focusing on some spot just over my head. "I really don't know what to think. I mean, it's not like you can hide something like that here. La Push just…isn't that big. I know where she is every second of the day, and if I didn't someone would go out of their way to make sure I did. And it's not like we're fighting. We still get along fine, we always have. This doesn't make any sense."

Embry was conspicuously silent, which was a shocker in and of itself. He might look quiet and shy, but when he had an opinion it was almost impossible to get him to keep it to himself.

"You should get the bloodsucker to take Billy for the night, take Bella out on the town, then bring her back here and hogtie her to the bed until she tells you everything."

Jake looked at me wryly.

"Right. Because that would be incredibly good for my continued health and happiness-for the three seconds it would take her to cut me off for the rest of my life. No offense Quil, but you are _not_ the person I'd turn to for marital advice."

"What are you talking about? _I_ am a love machine," I boasted, gratified to see the flicker of amusement in his eyes. If Bella didn't get her pretty little butt around to talking to Jake before too much longer, _I_ was going to be the one hog tying her to the bed. I loved the girl like a sister, but I'd spent years watching Jake eat himself up over her and I wasn't about to let her do it again.

"_You _are an idiot. When was the last time you actually went out on a date?"

I frowned, trying to think back. Truth be told, it _had_ been a while.

"I get out."

Embry snorted with disbelief.

"Dude, the only girl you've _gotten out_ with in months has been Jaz, and considering the two of you have this freaky little fuck buddy thing going on I don't think that counts."

Oh, sure, _now_ he had something to say.

"What are you talking about?" I defended myself. "We're friends. We go out. We do stuff. It's just like hanging out with you guys, only she's a whole lot better looking. And if we happen to sleep together every once in a while…well, we're both consenting adults. Who cares?"

Jake shook his head.

"You two get out, alright. You go out to her place for dinner, then you have sex. You go over to Sam and Emily's, then you go back to her place and have sex. You hang out at the Cullens', then you go back to her place and have sex. The two of you haven't been outside the reservation at the same time in months. Hate to tell you bro, that doesn't make you friends. That makes you fuck buddies, and you're an idiot if you think she's cool with that."

I wasn't that bad, was I? We did things together. We…we…All right, so maybe we didn't have that whole namby-pamby romantic thing going on. It wasn't like we were dating. One of my favorite things about this whole friends-with-benefits thing was that she didn't expect all the trimmings and trappings that came with a relationship. It was casual, comfortable, without all of the stress of having to get dressed up, pick a girl up, drive for miles and smile through a chick flick you couldn't actually stand on the off chance that you might get laid at the end of the night.

That didn't mean I was treating her like some sort of fuck buddy, did it?

"She probably wouldn't even go out with you if you asked," chortled Embry, obviously amused by the conflict going on in my head. "Jaz is a woman of very discerning taste."

"Of course she'd go out with me."

Jake handed me the phone.

"I've got twenty bucks says she turns you down flat."

I scowled at him, snatching the phone out of his hand.

"How did we get started on _my_ love life? I thought we were talking about you and Bella?"

The sadness on his face had been replaced by his familiar smirk. I probably would have been happier to see it if he wasn't laughing at my expense.

"Picking on your love life is more fun." He leaned back in his chair again, folding his hands behind his head. "Go ahead, give her a call. See if she wants to go out to dinner tonight."

Damn it, how did I get roped into this crap? Punching in the familiar number, my mind scrambled for a way to get out of this. Truth be told, I wasn't at all sure Jaz would actually agree to go out with me. She'd been very clear the first time she'd let me talk her into bed. (Was it 5 years ago? Really?) No commitments, no strings. The last thing I wanted to do was fuck that up and ruin a perfectly good friendship just because I'd let the two morons sitting next to me push my buttons.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jaz, what's up?"

"Not much. I'm heading up to the clinic to check on Sam Jr. and start excavating the massive pile of paperwork on my desk. What's going on?"

"Ah…" Jake and Embry were grinning at me like a couple of lunatics. "I was wondering if you wanted to do dinner after you got done tonight."

"Sure. I think I've got some lasagna in the freezer, and since I'm assuming the snickering I'm hearing in the background means Jake and Embry are sitting right there you can tell them I might be able to scrape some up for everyone else if Bella and Andy want to knock off for the night."

"That sounds good, but, ah…" Shit. "I was thinking maybe we'd head up to Port Angeles tonight, just the two of us. You said you wanted to try out that new Italian place down on Main."

For a full minute all I could hear was the soft purr of the engine I'd just finished fiddling with a couple days before and the beat of her Red Hot Chili Peppers CD, the one she always kicked on when she needed a pick-me-up in the morning, pounding out of her speakers.

"Maybe you'd better come by the office. I can probably squeeze you in right around lunch."

Her voice, when she finally spoke, was perfectly serious, and I stared at the phone.

"Why?"

"Because the Quil Ateara I know would never voluntarily suggest getting dressed up and going out, which means you've either suffered one too many hits to the head and need some observation time or you need that full body scan after all. I hear alien probing technology gets more sophisticated every year."

She was laughing now, and I couldn't hold back an answering grin. Waggling my eyebrows at Jake and Embry, I said, "I'll tell you what, you say yes and I'll let you observe whatever you want."

"Deal."

"Pick you up at 8?"

"Make it 8:30, my place. I've got appointments all afternoon, which means I'm going to be way too nasty to be seen in public without at least getting a shower first."

There was a soft 'click', then the line went dead. Hanging up, I stuck out my hand and wiggled my fingers in Jake's general direction.

"Pay up, sucka."


	4. Chapter 4

**Jaz**

I held the phone in disbelief for several long moments after clicking it shut, still not quite able to process what just happened. Had Quil actually asked me out on a…date? Nope. My mind rejected that idea almost as fast as it dreamed it up. Sure, it was a little bit of a letdown, but even I had to admit that it was far more likely he had some nefarious scheme up his sleeve that required a trip to Port Angeles and a willing accomplice. I'd just have to wait until that night to find out what it was. And he was _so_ getting stuck with the bill if he was just yanking me around.

That didn't stop a little piece of me from whispering, "But what if…?"

Thoughts of Quil flew merrily out of my mind when I pulled up in front of the clinic and saw the tiny red sports car parked around the side of the house. Braking quickly, I kicked the SUV into park and jetted up the stairs, what even I could tell was a stupid grin stretching from ear to ear when I caught sight of the tall, slim figure in black that threw open the door.

"Oh my God, you're here!"

Max laughed as I leaped into her arms with shameless abandon.

"There's something going on that's strange enough to make the oh-so-polite Dr. Cullen call my house at midnight requesting a consult, and you really didn't think I'd hop in the car and come flying down here?"

"Wait, you've been here since last night?"

She grinned.

"About 3 o'clock this morning, actually. I managed to barter for a couple extra days off, and Dr. C was nice enough to put me up in one of the guest rooms in this Beverly Wiltshire of a house of his. So I'm all yours."

"Then you've seen Sam Jr.?"

Her face sobered as we walked through the empty waiting room and into my office. Glancing around, I noticed someone-probably Carlisle-had already plowed through most of the pile of charts I'd left lying on my desk the night before. I wasn't sure whether to bless him or curse him for it.

"Your little wolf's in rough shape. I was looking over his lab work last night, and I tossed some samples under the microscope just for the hell of it. Have you seen this yet?"

I shook my head. "No. Carlisle drew the labs yesterday, but we spent so much time keeping him stabilized that I haven't had a chance to see any of it yet. What did you find?"

"This is…just plain creepy. Come check it out."

She led me down the hall and down a flight of stairs to the basement we'd emptied out, upgraded and converted into a laboratory. Walking over to the computer, she quickly clicked a couple of buttons. A feedout of his bloodwork popped up on the left hand side, followed by three of the strangest microscope slides I'd ever seen.

"Remind me to kiss Dr. C later for picking up this digital microscope," she said absently, all business now.

Seeing her there, all that intense focus focused on my patient, it was easy to understand why one of the guys she'd dated in med school had called her a mystery wrapped up in an enigma all tied up with a contradiction. Even though it was a balmy 75 degrees outside (which was pretty good for Forks) she was decked out in a pair of black leather pants, a black silk tank top and a pair of biker boots. Her short black hair was artfully spiked, silver hoops lined either side of her ears, and a diamond stud sparkled in her nose. She looked like every good boy's parents' worst nightmare. On the other hand, she was completely at home in the crisp, formal lab coat she'd pulled on when we walked in, and she was flicking through the slides on the computer with an air of authority that no one with a vested interest in keeping all their body parts would dare to question.

"There. All right, check this out."

She stepped back, and I peered down at the screen. His blood work showed about what I'd expected. His white blood cells were slightly elevated, with a predominance of T4 cells and granulocytes, but nowhere near the immune response I'd expect to see from a wolf with an infection like his. Glancing over to the slides, I frowned. Now that was interesting.

"Do you see it?"

"Oh yeah. This is from the edge of his wound, I take it?" This was bad. This was really, really bad. "Has Carlisle seen this yet?"

"Yeah, we were swapping notes on it this morning."

We both stared at the grim picture painted in full color on the screen in front of us. Little Sam had been hit by a healthy dose of vampire venom all right, but it looked like it had been dropped straight onto his skin. As we watched, the poison gobbled up any cell that got too close, sucking out the hematocrit before draining the cell dry. That's why the edge of the slice down the ribs had blackened; it was literally burning from the inside.

"The good news is, it seems to be localized-and by localized, I mean it's not spreading any more." Max clicked a few more buttons and a full body scan popped up. When had we taken that?

"You can see where it started attacking his lungs, his liver and his esophageal lining, but while it's cooking the edges of his wound it's literally just sort of sitting around on his insides right now." She turned to me. "If I had to guess, I'd say the anti-venom's doing its thing, it's just not strong enough to wipe it out completely."

"Great. Now what?"

Belligerently , I glared at the screen. This was good news-sort of. It meant that if we could operate and get all of the damaged skin off the slice in his side we'd be able to stop the progression, clean the wound and make him more comfortable. The bad news was, as long as the vampire venom was roaming around in his body his immune system was still going to be dangerously suppressed. So he wasn't getting worse, but he wasn't going to get any better either. At this point, our options sucked.

"I'm working on it. I think…"

She paused, tipping her head, then grinned.

"Sounds like you've got company."

Opening my mouth to ask her what was going on I froze, then swore when I heard the quiet voice talking to Carlisle upstairs.

"Shit, I was supposed to call her this morning."

"So she saved you the trouble."

Carlisle must have told Bella where she could find us, because a second later she appeared at the top of the stairs. Billy peered down on us with avid curiosity from his perch on her hip.

"Max!"

There were laughs and shrieks as my two best friends threw their arms around each other, laughing like crazy women and dancing around the basement with Billy squished in between them, looking on in owlish delight.

"Oh my God, when did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? How long can you stay?"

Bella was firing off a barrage of questions, but I noticed when she talked her voice was almost fever bright-like she was trying just a little too hard to sound deliriously happy. Remembering her tears on the phone the night before, I frowned.

"I got here about Oh-Dark-Thirty this morning, I didn't tell you I was coming because I didn't know until Dr. C picked up the phone and called me last night, and I get to play Mighty Mouse for the next four days."

"Mighty Mouse?"

"Yeah, you know, 'Here I come to save the day?'"

Bella giggled, but some of the cheer was starting to wear off her face. Her lower lip started to tremble, and a moment later she burst into tears.

"I'm so happy to see you," she sobbed. "I needed you guys, so much."

Oh boy. I reached out, scooping Billy out of her arms so she could bury her head in Max's shoulder. Billy looked completely bewildered by the sight of his mother in tears, and the last thing we needed was a screaming two year old on top of a sobbing Bella. I indicated that I was going to take Billy upstairs and Max nodded, stroking Bella's hair and whispering reassurances as I jogged up the stairs and walked briskly down the hall to the doors that divided the clinic from the Cullens' private home.

Rosalie and Alice met me at the door, Emmett in tow. Sometimes vampire hearing really came in handy; they'd known I was coming the minute I stepped out of the basement. The mischievous vamp whooped when he saw Billy propped up in my arms.

"Hello handsome!" He held out his hands. "What say you come play with Uncle Emmett and break out of this estrogen ocean for a while, huh?"

Emmett was incorrigible, but you had to love him.

"It would probably be good if you'd take him for a while, but let's not teach him words like estrogen, eh? I _really_ don't want to have to explain that one to Jacob."

He waved absently over his shoulder, already whispering in Billy's ear as they headed for the giant playplace he and Jasper had built out in their back yard. I shook my head, unable to stop the laughter that wanted to bubble up out.

"Where's Bella?"

Alice looked concerned, and Rosalie…Rosalie was just looking at me like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I had the sneaky suspicion she knew more about what was going on than I did.

"Bella's downstairs, watering Max's shirt."

"Is everything…"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet. Billy looked like he was on the verge of having a bigger meltdown than his mama, so I thought I'd see if I could leave him up here with you for a while."

"Of course," Rosalie answered smoothly. "Tell Bella to take as much time as she needs."

Again, I had that odd sensation that I was only getting part of the story, but I let it go. There would be plenty of time to talk to Rosalie later.

Ducking back out the doors and into the clinic, I winced as the sound of Bella's harsh sobs came floating out of my office. Then, as if this morning wasn't crazy enough, the front door swung open. Sam stepped into the waiting room, Emily and Abram two steps behind. I noticed the two were very carefully not touching, and neither one looked like they'd had a good night's sleep. I would have to sit down and talk to Emily later. It was very, very common for parents to fight when a child was in the hospital, and with Sam out of town the day before it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he'd come home to a slightly chillier welcome than he deserved. No, it wasn't fair, but it happened. Unfortunately, all that extra tension wasn't going to do a thing to help their son get better any faster.

Speaking of extra tension…

Bella was curled up in the fetal position in one of my office chairs, tears rolling in rivers down her cheeks as she tried to talk. Max was sitting next to her, an arm around her shoulders as she steadily handed her tissue after tissue, nodding and agreeing with whatever it was Bella was trying to say. Mindful of the couple sitting in the waiting room, I carefully closed the door behind me before perching on the edge of my desk.

"Bella, honey, what happened?"

She looked at me, a fresh bout of tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh god Jaz, I did something so stupid, and now Jacob's going to kill me!"

Bursting into fresh sobs she started babbling. I caught the words "Edward" and "Italy", but most of what was coming out was complete gibberish. The good news was, if I couldn't understand, Sam probably couldn't either. If Jake was really behind this waterfall of tears, and it seemed likely that he was, this was definitely not a conversation we wanted to have with his fellow alpha right down the hall.

"Bella…Bella, honey, get it together."

My voice was deliberately sharp, and both Bella and Max looked up at me with shock on their faces. I felt bad-Bella obviously desperately needed a good cry -but I knew sympathy wasn't going to help her turn off the waterworks while Sam was in hearing range.

"Listen, I don't doubt that whatever happened is awful, and you know we want to hear all about it, but right now Sam and Emily are sitting in that waiting room. Even with the door closed I don't doubt he can hear every word you say. That means whatever you say here is going to go from your mouth to Jacob's ears, whether you mean it to or not. Do you want that to happen?"

Her head bobbed from side to side as she looked at me mutely, and I couldn't help feeling like the Evil Stepmother in the fairy tale that has to tell Cinderella she can't go to the ball. She was a pitiful sight, her face blotchy and tear streaked, the skin under her bloodshot eyes deeply discolored from lack of sleep. She also looked paler than usual, which for Bella was really saying something, and I reached behind me to write a reminder on my desk that I needed to bully her about her annual physical. You'd think someone that spent as much time in the ER as she did would be a little better about routine maintenance, but there you have it.

"What you need is a girl's night out. We haven't had one of those in forever." Max's proclamation made Bella's eyes light up. It did sound like fun. With our busy schedules, it had been a long time since the three of us had been able to just head out for a night of utter irresponsibility.

"What do you say, Bella? Think you can get a sitter for little man if we go out tonight and tear up the town?"

Tonight? Oh crap…

"Um, guys, I don't think tonight's going to…" I trailed off as I watched the light die in Bella's eyes. She was obviously past her breaking point, and while I didn't doubt for a minute she'd be understanding about waiting to go out another night so I could keep my date-or whatever it was-with Quil, I was pretty sure blowing off my best friend when she was an emotional wreck was in firm violation of the rule of "Bros Before Hoes"…or whatever its equivalent was in female society.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have realized, you probably have plans." Bella's lips tilted up slightly, looking for all the world like a puppy someone had just kicked. "Hot date?"

I forced a smile. "Yes, actually, but nothing I can't reschedule."

Her face lit up, and Max smiled at me approvingly. I grabbed my cell phone, stepping out into the hallway for at least a modicum of privacy-and a minute to pull myself together. It didn't seem to matter that I was pretty certain this was never meant to be a real date, or that Quil probably wasn't going to care one way or the other. Nausea still burned the back of my throat as I flipped the phone open and started to dial. Maybe I'd get lucky and it would go straight to voicemail.

Then again, maybe not.

"Hey beautiful, what's going on?"

Oh god. Yeah. Go ahead Quil, make this harder than it already is.

"Hey…listen, about dinner tonight…"

There was silence on the other end of the line, then a cautious, "Yeah?"

"It's just…Bella showed up at the office, and she and Max want to do a girl's night while Max is in town, and…"

"And so you want to ditch me to spend the night with a bunch of chicks? That's awesome! Get me some pictures, would you? And if you need some help finding the right pajamas for the pillow fight…"

Laughter bubbled up out of my throat.

"Glad to know you're taking this with good grace," I said dryly.

"Hey, it's no big. We can always catch dinner another night. I'm pretty sure I still get to keep the money if…"

His voice trailed off sheepishly, and I scowled suspiciously into the phone.

"You still get to keep the money if what?"

'Please, please, please tell me you didn't make a bet that you could get me to go out with you. Lie to me if you have to, but please tell me I get to keep at least that much. '

A soft blast of air echoed through the phone.

"The guys were messing around earlier, and they were ragging on the fact that we haven't gone out in a while…"

"Ever," I grumbled under my breath.

"…and Embry said that you wouldn't actually _go_ out with me, since we have this friends with benefits thing going on and we're not actually dating, then Jake tossed down twenty bucks that you'd say no, and…"

"And of course you took the bet like an idiot and picked up the phone," I finished for him, my heart breaking in my chest.

"Yeah." His voice was thick with shame. "I fucked up, didn't I?"

You have no idea…

"Hey, it's cool." I worked up a smile from somewhere down around my toes, silently cursing the male species as a whole for being immature idiots. "We'll reschedule. Can't let Jake get the last word."

"Thanks Jaz. You're the best." He was positively giddy now that he knew I wasn't going to bail on him. "I'll make this up to you, I swear. "

Promises, promises.


	5. Chapter 5

**Quil**

After Jaz hung up I snapped my cell phone shut, then smacked my head against the wall. Wolf senses were great, but they didn't let you live with any sweet delusions either. A deaf man could have heard the hurt in her voice when I told her about that stupid bet. Damn it, all I wanted to do was cheer Jake up. Instead, he was upstairs in his office, snarling at anyone stupid enough to walk through the door while he waded through paperwork, and I was the one in the dog house.

I owed Jaz big time, and whatever else you could say about me, I always paid my debts. I just had to think of something…

Coffee!

Grabbing on to the thought like it was the holy grail of great ideas, I rolled back underneath the Chevy sedan with the leaky tranny. Coffee. She'd been addicted to the gourmet stuff they sold at the little Mom & Pop deli near our old place in Jacksonville. There was a coffee shop in Port Angeles that carried it, but it was so expensive she was constantly talking herself out of it. I'd pick her up a bag, maybe get some of those cheesy pastry things she liked to go with it. Hey, I didn't have any plans. Not anymore. If I could talk Jake into letting me knock off a little early I could grab them tonight, then camp out on her front steps tomorrow morning until she decided to forgive me.

The image made me smile, and I went back to work feeling much, much better about the world at large. Busy patting myself on the back in between indiscriminately cursing at mechanics that didn't know how to take out a bolt instead of just shoving it in when it didn't fit, I missed the clicking of a pair of size 13 men's dress shoes echoing off of the concrete floor until they connected with the bottom of my cart.

"Dude, what the hell?"

Knocked out from under the car, I blinked against the sudden light and glared up at the shadow standing over me.

"Have you seen Jake anywhere?"

"Invoices. Last time I saw him he nearly took my head off, but hey, you go right on ahead."

Embry grimaced.

"That time of the month again?"

We both snickered. Then I got a good look at what he was wearing and almost rolled off onto the floor all over again.

"Did we decide we were changing the name of the shop to 007 Auto and someone forgot to tell me?"

A flush raced up his cheeks, and he shifted uncomfortably in the black chinos and gray button up he was sporting. In a garage. I frantically tried to remember if something was going on today that would preclude my usual Wolfpack coveralls and ratty boots and make hauling out my funeral suit (which was about the grand sum of my dress clothes) a necessity. Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it, I came up with nothing.

"I need to get some stuff knocked out this afternoon. I was going to see if Jake cared if I took off. My queue's already finished for the day, and we don't have anything else coming in till tomorrow."

My mouth fell open in shock.

"You're done already?"

"Yeah."

There'd been at least a dozen cars with his name on them today, and it was barely two. He had to have hauled some serious ass to get through that already. Since Embry never hauled ass through work when he could help it, whatever he was doing that afternoon was pretty major.

"Big plans?"

"Something like that."

The smugness in his voice caught my attention, but since it probably had something to do with Andy I figured I really didn't want to know. He'd sounded almost as unhappy as Jake this morning, and his marital bliss had a direct impact on my food supply, so if those two were getting some time to straighten things out (or sneak in an afternoon quickie) I certainly wasn't going to stop them.

"I'll cover for you. If Jake decides he wants to bitch about it, he can take it out on me."

I didn't really think Jake would care. As long as the work got done. And even without Embry I'd still be able to get cleaned up and get out of here in plenty of time to get to Port Angeles.

"Owe you one man."

"And don't think I'm not going to collect," I said with a grin. "Now get out of here before that shrew of a wife of yours gets tired of waiting."

Andy had been a part of Jake's family, and by extension, mine, since she was a 16 year old pipsqueak, and since I'd known her longer than Embry I figured that pretty much gave me the right to pick on her any way I saw fit. Even so, Embry usually gave me grief about calling her names. This time, he just nodded and walked away.

Jeez. First Jacob, then Embry. Maybe there was something in the water today.

The second to last car of the day was up on skids and I was tightening the final bolts when a noise from the corner of the garage caught my eye. Jake had apparently managed to find the bottom of the pile of forms he'd let stack up on his desk (sometimes it sucked to be the boss) and he was downstairs talking to Cyrus Hutt, the principal of the high school we'd all gone to and Bella now taught at. Cyrus was a good guy, so I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Jake's body language got more and more aggressive as the minutes ticked by. I set down my tools and stood up when his hands started to shake.

Eating the customers was bad for business.

"Jake, you just about ready to roll man?"

He jerked when I clapped my hand on his shoulder. Dude was tight as a spring.

"Yeah." He smiled at Cyrus, who waved goodbye before heading out. As soon as he was out of sight, Jake spun around on me.

"What the hell were you doing? I almost tossed you before I realized who you were."

I shrugged, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my coveralls.

"Looked like you could use a distraction. I thought you were going to make mincemeat out of Hutt for a second there."

He closed his eyes and shuddered, visibly bringing his temper back under control. I watched him warily. It wouldn't be the first time I'd been chucked across this garage-we'd all done it at some point or another-but that concrete _hurt_.

When his eyes popped back open, however, all I could see was the strange, glassy calm I sometimes saw on Sam's face when someone had pushed him a little too far.

"I need to go take care of some stuff. You and Embry make sure you lock up when you leave, all right?"

Turning, he walked out of the garage without looking back. I opened my mouth to protest, then snapped it shut. There was no point. I was the one who told Embry to go ahead and go, which meant it was my job to pick up the slack.

Unfortunately, the last car of the day decided to be a real pain. By the time I'd finished the realignment and crawled under the glove box to fix the A/C it was after 8, which meant it was almost 10 by the time I got out of there-way too late to bother trying to drive up to Port Angeles for Jaz. I was going to have a whole extra day to feel like a jerk before I could get over there and apologize, and thinking about it put me in a foul mood by the time I got back home.

My night just got better when I stepped in the door and saw Andy, watching me from across the kitchen with a scowl that would scare the pants off of better men than me.

"Well?" she asked, arms folded across her chest, foot tapping impatiently on the floor.

"Well what?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed past her, heading for a shower and the peaceful oblivion of sleep.

"What have you and my idiot of a husband been up to all night, and why didn't anyone bother to pick up a phone and tell me about it?"

_That_ stopped me cold. Frowning, I turned around to look at her.

"Embry's not here?"

"Noooo, he never came home." Worry started creeping across her face. "I thought he was with you. I was going to string up both of you when you got back."

"He knocked off about 2. He was all slicked up, I figured you guys had plans."

She stared at me, her eyes welling up with tears. Swearing, I pulled her into my arms.

"Where is he, Quil?" she asked softly, sniffling into my chest.

Wincing at the thought of what all the grease on my shirt had to be doing to her face, I placed a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm sure he's fine, honey. He probably got tied up. You know Embry."

The silence spoke volumes. That was the problem. We did know Embry, which meant we both knew nothing short of the apocalypse would have kept him from coming home by now if he wanted to be here. Worry squeezed my chest. Either he was lying dead in the woods somewhere, or he was up to something. I was really hoping for his sake it was the first, because if it was the second Jake was going to kill him. Assuming Andy didn't do it first.

Loud pounding on the door made both of us jump.

"Were you expecting company?"

Of course not. I threw open the door, all set to give whoever was banging at 10:30 at night a piece of my mind…only to stop and stare at the man sagging against the doorframe.

"Hullo, Quilly Boy." Jake's words were cheerful, he eyes glazed and glassy as he peered over my shoulder at Andy. "Andy! Itsh my little sugar blossom. My fav-o-rite woman in the world. C'mon over here and gives ush a kiss."

He walked into the room with the careful, deliberate steps of the very drunk. Closing the door, I leaned against it in disbelief while he collapsed on the couch. Thanks to our wolf metabolism we burned through alcohol pretty quickly, which meant we wolves had to work pretty hard to get and maintain a decent buzz. It was half the reason I stopped going out after I turned 21. It just wasn't worth it. To get completely wasted, you had to put in a concentrated effort. If I wasn't mistaken, Jake had been putting in that concentrated effort most of the evening.

"Whatsha mattah, Andy honey?"

Jake glared at me, then reached out a hand and pulled Andy around the divider and into his lap. I realized he'd seen the tear tracks on her face and thought I had something to do with it. Before I could defend myself, however, Andy piped up.

"It's not Quil's fault. My stupid husband decided not to come home. Again."

Jake scowled, his gaze laser sharp as he looked down at her. He was already starting to lose his slur, which meant his body was steadily burning through the alcohol in his system. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Again? This getting to be a habit?"

"Third night this week, and at least as many times the last."

She sniffled, burying her face in his shoulder. He stroked her hair for a minute, then grinned.

"That's awesome!"

"It…it is?"

Uh oh. Andy was looking like she was going to blow, swinging from fury to despair and back to fury again at Jacob's words. Before she could really get started, however, Jake tipped his head back and howled.

"I am going to LOVE working off some of this frustration on Embry's face tomorrow."

Oh boy. There was no possible way this was going to end well. I walked over and grabbed the flask from his hand, easily dodging his sloppy cuff to the head.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? I thought I was the only one that didn't know." Behind the alcoholic blur his eyes dimmed with pain, and the grin slipped off his face. "Bella's leaving me."

"No way."

He laughed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope.

"Yeah, that's what I said. But, oddly enough, I'm talking to Cyrus this afternoon, and he tells me they're really going to miss Bella next year. Did _you_ know she put her resignation in all the way back in May?"

Andy shook her head fervently under his accusing glare. His lips twisted wryly.

"Yeah, neither did I. So I go back to the house, and my wife isn't there. I figured I'd make some coffee, wait for her to get home, then drag whatever the hell's going on out of her once and for all. I open up the middle cupboard and start shuffling things around looking for the stupid cream, and lo and behold, look what I found in the back. Two tickets to Italy for Isabella and William Black for the end of August-that's only 3 weeks away, in case you didn't know-by way of Florence, courtesy of _Edward Cullen_."

The silence was complete. Jake's shoulders slumped, his head heavy on his chest as he stared at the grease-streaked jeans he'd worn to work that day. Andy and I looked at each other. Neither one of us had a clue what to say. Sure, I'd known something was wrong with Bella, but never in a million years would I have figured she was planning to leave. Cold fury crawled up my spine. I didn't know how, but somehow this was all Cullen's fault. The stupid leech had just been waiting for an opportunity to steal Bella back again.

"Are you sure?"

The soft voice seemed to cut through whatever daze he'd wandered off in. Jake squeezed Andy tight, kissing the top of her head again.

"It explains everything. The late night phone calls, the mood swings, the way she's been avoiding me lately. She's leaving, and she's taking my son with her."

"So why aren't you home duck taping her ass to the chair?" Andy demanded, scowling up at him indignantly. "You're not really just going to let her go, are you?"

"I'd _love_ to tape her ass to the chair, or hog tie her to the bed, or try any other creative means of restraint the two of you could come up with so I could figure out what the hell was going on in that crazy, mixed-up head of hers, but in case you missed it, my wife isn't home. It's like she just disappeared, just like Embry." He frowned. "You don't think…"

"She's out with Jaz and Max."

They both turned to look at me, surprise on their faces. I think they'd forgotten I was here.

"How do you know?"

"Talked to Jaz earlier. She bailed on dinner because she, Bella and Max were going to do some girl's night thing." I shrugged. "They're probably up in Port Angeles, and unless there's something about Embry that Andy here isn't telling us, I highly doubt he's invited."

Jake sighed, tipping his head back on the couch.

"How is it that you know where my wife is when I don't?" he grumbled. A quick ding from his pocket made all of us jump. He pulled it out slowly, eyeing the phone and its waiting text like it was a ticking time bomb. I think he was half afraid of what it was going to say. A few seconds later, he laughed.

"Fan-freaking-tastic. She and Billy are staying with Max at the Cullens' for the next three days. That's just…peachy."

The poor, hapless phone crashed into the wall, pieces flying everywhere as Jake dispassionately stared at the wreckage.

"Oops. I broke it." He looked down at Andy again, who was still curled into his side. "Well kid, looks like it's you and me. Wanna run off to Vegas?"

A good-natured leer had Andy giggling, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched the two of them. Even when his own heart was breaking, Jake was doing his best to try and cheer her up.

"I think I'll pass on Vegas. I've had enough of husbands for one day." Andy reached over, grabbing the flask from where I'd set it on the table and taking a healthy swig before she passed it, choking and coughing, over to Jacob.

"Holy hell, that burns. I think," she said, eyes watering, "that we should dedicate the night to getting falling down drunk, watching bad sitcoms and generally trying to forget just how much life really, really sucks right now."

"You tell 'em, sister." Lifting the flask in salute, Jake took a swig before tucking it into his lap and reaching for the remote. He and Andy settled in together, laughing until their eyes grew heavy and they fell asleep wrapped around each other on the couch while I thought about Claire and watched to make sure they didn't do anything stupider than getting drunk on a flask filled with moonshine.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jaz**

A brisk breeze whisked a piece of paper down the street just as I stepped out of my car in front of Bella Italia, making the skirt of the halter dress I'd let Max stuff me into dance and swirl around my knees . My lips curved almost involuntarily when a wolf whistle rippled down the street from the guys hanging around on the corner. Even I had to admit, I was looking good. I don't know what Max saw on my face when I came back after talking to Quil, but she immediately announced we were all bailing out for a little R&R. A quick trip to the salon later I had been buffed, primped and polished, layers of exhaustion disappearing under the capable hands of their resident masseuse. It was almost enough to make me forget about my very genuine desire to get my hands around the neck of a certain wolf and squeeze.

Almost.

I didn't want to think about Quil tonight. There was no reason for him to have assumed I wouldn't go along, even if he'd told me about the bet from the very beginning. I was, after all, more or less his Girl Friday. As his friend and sometime lover, that sort of thing should have been right up my alley. There was no reason to get bent out of shape about it.

Of course there was a reason to get bent out of shape about it. Just thinking about it made my blood start to boil. It was one thing to accept that the idiot was never going to see me as anything more than the girl next door, complete with a great benefits package. It was another to realize that he'd put my feelings on the line with that ridiculous bet without thinking twice about it. We were supposed to be friends, damn it. Friends didn't do that to each other. I had every right to be mad.

And if there was a small voice in the back of my mind pointing out that I wouldn't be nearly this upset if I hadn't been stupid enough to fall in love with him in the first place (would probably have thought it was hilarious, truth be told), well, that small voice could just shut the hell up. It obviously didn't know what it was talking about.

A movement in the shadows caught my attention as I clicked quickly over to the restaurant. It was dark in the alley where he stood, head bent, arms braced against the brick wall, but it looked so much like Embry that I found myself squinting for a better look. Before I could open my mouth and call out, however, a soft giggle floated across the night air and a pair of arms reached up from the darkened space created by his body, pulling his head down and threading slender, red-tipped fingers through his hair.

Okay, definitely not Embry. Shaking my head at my own fancy, I jogged up the steps to Port Angeles's most popular Italian restaurant; the same restaurant Quil had talked about bringing me to not 12 hours earlier.

'Don't go there, Jaz. Just…don't go there.'

Bella and Max were already there, Max sipping red wine while Bella cheerfully tipped back a glass of soda. Looked like she'd lost the coin toss for DD tonight. I studied her carefully as I walked over. A few hours at the spa had done wonders to erase the ragged edges left by her crying jag, and Max's deft hand had smoothed out the blotchy skin and the bags under her eyes. Decked out in something simple and black that _had_ to have come out of Max's suitcase (I was pretty sure Bella didn't even _own_ anything that low cut), she looked great.

Max, looking like a gothic ballerina in a black catsuit and rayon skirt, lifted her glass.

"About damn time you got here. I thought we were going to starve to death before we could pick out an appetizer."

Slipping into my seat, I opened the menu and quickly skimmed through. Max got crankier than a vampire on a Kool Aid diet when she was hungry, and since I was pretty sure Bella was going to crumble the first time someone sent a sharp word her way, no matter how much smiling she was doing, it paid to keep her happy.

"The mushrooms. Definitely the mushrooms."

Portobello mushrooms stuffed with cheese and some excellent sausage were delivered, followed quickly by our entrees. The three of us made small talk until our food was in place and the waiters were well out of hearing range. Then Max swooped in on Bella.

"All right babe, what's going on? What could you possibly have done that would inspire that stupidly besotted husband of yours to want to kill you?"

Bella's eyes immediately watered up again. I handed her my napkin, glowering at Max.

"Sweetie, you know we just want to help, but we can't do anything until we know what's going on."

She wiped her eyes, smearing dark mascara across the pristine white linens. There was a pitiful amount of gratitude on her face.

"You can't help. No one can. But thanks."

A low growl sounded from the end of the table.

"This melodrama is driving me nuts," Max complained, breaking off a piece of breadstick and sticking it in her mouth. "Just tell us what happened already!"

A master of tact, Maxine Donovan was not. It seemed to be just what Bella needed though, because she sat up straight and took a deep, wobbly breath.

"I'm leaving Jake, taking Billy and moving to Italy to live with Edward."

The rattle of the dessert carts seemed unnaturally loud in the silence that fell over the table. There was no way I'd heard that right. Bella was leaving Jake? For Edward? And taking his only child thousands of miles away, where there was a good chance that he'd never see him again? Had she lost her mind? Jake was going to have an aneurysm!

Looking at the misery on Bella's face, however, I had the distinct feeling we were only hearing part of the story. Bella loved Jake, and he was, as Max had said, almost stupidly devoted to her and their son. I'd never seen a couple so happy. There had to be something I was missing.

"No you're not."

I reached over to squeeze her hand, earning a watery smile in return.

"No, I'm not," she agreed softly, "but that's how he's going to see it." She looked from me to Max. "Maybe I'd better start at the beginning."

"Yeah." Max lifted her hand. A moment later, a waiter topped off her glass. "Yeah, I think that would be good."

Bella sighed, looking morosely down at the fizz on the top of her soda.

"I never wanted to come back to La Push. Don't get me wrong, I love everyone here, but it's so…small. You see the same people, do the same things year after year. It's like a giant rut that you just can't break out of."

She laughed at the look of surprise I knew had to be on both our faces.

"I know, I was happy about it when Jake said he wanted to move back. He needed to be here, and I needed to be with him. It was good to see Charlie again, and I'm afraid I didn't think beyond that. I didn't expect…Edward and I used to travel. A lot. I loved every minute of it, eating brioches in Paris and sipping tea in Beijing. There were always new experiences, new adventures. It wasn't the same thing day after day.

"Eventually, the walls started closing in on me. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I must have thought about leaving a hundred times. It would be so easy. Just grab Jake, hop in the car and go. Travel the country for a while, come back when we'd seen enough. Then I found out I was pregnant with Billy." She shrugged. "That made it better for a while. We had so much to do to get ready for the baby, and then when he came we were both so happy it just didn't matter."

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, bowing her head over the table.

"Then Jake started putting in more hours at the shop. It was just a little here, a little there. He'd leave an hour early one day, come home a few hours later the next. Before long he was leaving when I was getting up in the morning and coming home after I went to bed at night. Those great conversations we used to have whittled down to hello, goodbye and 'Who's picking up Billy?'. And even when he was home, he was always getting called out to do something with the pack."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she rolled them up to the ceiling.

"Oh my god, the pack. It always comes down to the pack. When Jake's home, I have at least 3 wolves sitting at my table. If we go anywhere, there's always someone riding in the bed of the truck going along with us. And don't even get me _started_ on what it's like to know that twenty some-odd wolves know everything there is to know about my sex life. Do you have any idea how creepy it is to stand in Emily's kitchen when the pack's all there and know that thanks to their stupid mind link, every male in that house has seen me naked?"

I flinched. Intellectually, I knew the guys didn't have any secrets. I'd just managed to completely block out any and all thought of what, exactly, that meant for me. How many times had the pack picked through Quil's brain after one of our morning afters?

"They're good guys, they really are, but sometimes it feels like the pack is just going to open up and swallow me whole. Like they've taken over every single aspect of my life."

Oh, _that_ was something I sympathized with all too well.

"One day my phone started to ring. I had just taken Billy out of the bath and wasn't really paying attention, so I picked up it up." Her eyes flickered back down to the table, and she started running her fingers along the edge of her glass. "It was Edward, calling to ask me…something, I can't even remember what it was now. It would have been fine, but Billy picked just then to jump up and swing off the curtains and bring them all crashing down on his head. It was the last straw. I just…started bawling my eyes out. I told Edward everything-how much I loved Jake, how smothered I was starting to feel, how sick I was of living with the pack in my back pocket, how I felt like I was losing myself under all the expectations of who everyone expected me to be.

"He listened, really listened, while I just dumped everything on him. And instead of telling me I told you so, he said it would be all right. Told me I could call him anytime I needed someone to talk to. He said…" She sniffled, her chin wobbling. "…He said I didn't have to be alone anymore."

My heart broke. What Bella was describing was depression, plain and simple. I didn't know how we had missed it.

"Sweetie, why didn't you say anything to us?"

Max reached over to squeeze her hand, earning a teary smile in return.

"I couldn't. It just…it sounded so stupid, you know? Poor Bella, married to this amazing guy who would do anything for her, with a gorgeous baby boy and a job she loves and friends and family everywhere she turns. I have _everything_, Max. What right do I have to complain about it?"

"That's rough honey, but it sounds like something you need to sit down and talk to Jake about," I pointed out. "I'm sure if he knew how you felt, you guys could work something out."

Bella shifted uncomfortably, and my eyes narrowed.

"What aren't you telling us?"

"Well…" She paused, and I could almost see her struggling for the right words to make us understand why she would, even for a moment, consider going back to Edward when she had something so amazing right here.

"This fall I was at my wit's end. That's when Edward told me there was a school in Florence that was looking for American teachers. I could spend the year abroad, work at the school and just-be. The Cullens have a house there we'd be able to stay at, and I could bring Jake and Billy with me. I jumped at it."

"Wait." I held up my hand. "You're going to move with Jake to _Italy_? No offense sweetie, but what is Jake going to do in Italy?"

"Anything he wants to!" Her eyes were shining now. "He could, god forbid, actually take some time off and spend it with me and his son. He could tour the country-I know he's never been out of North America. He could _see_ things, live a little."

Then her shoulders slumped.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. Edward took care of the arrangements, booked our plane tickets so we could give them to Jacob for Christmas. I figured he'd be pissed I'd done it without telling him, and a little hesitant about leaving at first, but we've talked about traveling before. We just never had the time, money or opportunity. Now…well, Andy's a full partner in the shop, and Quil and Embry are more than capable of taking over for a year. Sam can manage the pack on his own. And without Billy here, there was really no reason for him to say no. Then he came home early one day and dropped the other shoe. You remember Emily's party?"

We both nodded. Emily had turned 30 this past November, and it had been one hell of a party. I was still finding pieces of confetti trailed around my house that had dripped out of my dress and shoes after Quil had grabbed me and…never mind.

"Apparently Sam finally realized that she's not getting any younger, and he still-physically-isn't a day over 25. She's changing, and he's not, and he hates it." She smiled slightly. "He was afraid she'd decide she was tired of being the only one aging and go out and find someone who would grow old with her, the way she and Sam planned to when they got married. There haven't been any vamps around for a while, and the pack's huge and growing by the day."

I couldn't help a quick snort at that. There was no denying that the men of the pack were a prolific bunch. Jared and Kim had three of their own, and Rachel had given birth to twins about 2 years before Billy was born. Seth, Brady and Colin were just getting started, and there were a bunch of teens that had recently phased that I didn't know well but would add to the pack even more.

"So Sam, in a moment of epic timing, had to pick now to announce he's going to stop phasing after this summer. He's turning the pack over to Jacob."

Bella's eyes filled with tears.

"There's no chance Jake's going to be able to leave now, not with this many new wolves. You know how it is when they first phase, and when you've got another bunch coming up. You need an alpha on hand 24/7. I don't think I ever realized how hard it had to be for Emily before now. It's like you realize that your life is never going to be your own, you know? That some supernatural crap is _always_ going to make your decisions for you."

"Bella, you knew what he was when you married him," I pointed out gently. "You knew you were always going to be tied up with the pack, just like you had to have known, somewhere, that this day was coming."

"I know." Her voice was so soft, I could barely hear her. "I know. I do. And I know the right thing to do would be to tell Jacob how happy I am for him, send Edward back those tickets and forget about it. But I don't know if I can."

"Of course you can. You drop the tickets in an envelope, drop the envelope in the mailbox and say, 'Hey, thanks but no thanks'."

That was Max. Always so practical.

"No, I don't mean that I _can't_ send Edward back the tickets," said Bella with an exasperated huff. "I know how to work a mailbox Max, thanks. It's more…that I don't think I can walk away from this without hating myself, and Jacob in the process for making me do it. I know you guys love me, but I've always kind of felt like you left me behind when you went on to med school and started doing these amazing things while I graduated, got married and had Billy. There's so much I want to do still, and I'm not going to be able to do it if I stay in La Push. I know I could just wait and see if Jake decides to stop phasing, but who knows how long that could be? And I'm afraid if I say no to this now, another opportunity might not come along again. It's sort of a once in a lifetime thing."

Okay, I could see where she was coming from. Being a wife and a mother was hard, and from the sound of it Bella was starting to feel just a little bit overwhelmed. If she were my patient, I'd say the change of scenery would do her good. Get away from La Push and just breathe for a while, try something new. Unfortunately, Jake's new position in the pack was going to make that breathing room impossible for him. I wondered…

"The program's only a year, right?" I asked cautiously. "You guys have been apart before. Do you think if he knew how important this was to you, he'd tell you to ahead and go? I mean, it's not like planes don't cross the Atlantic every day."

She laughed, a laugh that was filled with heartache and disillusionment.

"If it were that simple, maybe. Jake's a great guy, I can't imagine he'd tell me not to go if he knew how trapped I've felt. He'd be pissed at the thought of me staying at the Cullens', and by default, with Edward, when he's in town, and there'd be plenty of arguing about who was going to keep Billy while I was gone, but we could probably work that out."

"So what's the problem?"

I was totally lost. Sure, it was going to be hard being away from her husband for a year, but there would be plenty of opportunities for Jacob to visit Italy, and for Bella to come back. Money might be a little tight, but we could figure it out. I had plenty saved up, despite the massive payments I made on my student loans each month, and I knew Max did too. And I had no doubt Carlisle would step in and offer to help if he knew what was going on. God knew the Cullens could afford to buy her a private jet without ever feeling the pinch on their pockets. A couple of plane tickets strategically disguised as Christmas and birthday presents…oh yes, Carlisle would do it.

"The problem is, it isn't that simple." Her eyes filled up with tears again, only this time they tumbled down over her cheeks, streaking through the blusher Max had nagged her into wearing. "I'm pregnant."

Max immediately squealed, throwing her arms around Bella's shoulders.

"Bella, that's amazing! Congratulations!"

Bella smiled wanly, patting Max on the back. Something was definitely off here. I would never forget the sheer, stupefied delight in her voice when she told us she was pregnant with Billy. This woman didn't look delighted. She looked-defeated. Like someone who just found out after months of treatments that their cancer was terminal. Since I was pretty sure pregnancy wasn't a terminal condition, there had to be something going on.

"Bella?"

The tears started flowing harder as Max leaned back, frowning into her face before passing her another napkin. This restaurant was going to blacklist us for years for ruining their table linens.

"What's wrong hon?"

A wet sniffle, then, in a voice so soft it couldn't even in good conscience be called a whisper, she said, "I feel like the most horrible mother in the world, but I can't be happy about this. I don't _want_ another baby. Billy's my whole world, but it's so _hard_. He needs my attention 24 hours a day, and because of his wolfy tendencies I can't let him out of my sight for a minute without wondering if he's jumping off the roof, or swinging from the cupboards, or climbing the fridge. I haven't taken a shower in peace or had ten minutes to myself when I wasn't at work in _months_. I don't know if I can do that again."

Oh boy.

"Bella, are you saying you're thinking about…?"

"No!" Her eyes widened in horror as they looked at me. "Oh god, no. I wouldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't do that to my baby, or to Jake. It wouldn't be fair to either one of them. But you remember how it was when I was pregnant with Billy. Jake coddled me to within an inch of my life, and I let him because everything was so new. But can you honestly see Jake letting me go to Italy once he finds out?"

She was absolutely right. I'd honestly more or less forgotten about it, since nervous fathers were a dime a dozen in my profession, but Jacob had been a wreck when Bella was pregnant the first time. He'd been paranoid that something was going to go wrong the minute he let her out of his sight. There was no way he was going to send her halfway around the world, into the arms of her ex-boyfriend, especially with the Volturi running around.

Speaking of which…

"Um, Bella, I hate to be a party pooper, but isn't Italy where the Volturi live? Isn't that a little…oh, I don't know…dangerous?"

"Yes, it is, and yes, it is." She looked up, her eyes taking on a warm glow even behind the faint sheen of tears. "That's why I'm not going alone. Everyone has offered to go with me."

"Everyone?"

Quil, was all I could think. Quil had known about this, and he hadn't said anything, and now he was talking about leaving me-I mean, the pack-and going to Italy for a year with his best friend's wife? It was admirable, but somehow I couldn't see either Jake or Quil just standing by and letting her go. Then I realized.

"By 'everyone', you don't mean the pack. You mean the Cullens."

Bella nodded.

"Carlisle's going to stay here with Esme to keep the clinic running and maintain an open line of communication with the pack, but everyone else has offered to come with me. So even though we'll be in Italy, I'll never be alone. And Florence is a long way from Volterra. If we're lucky, they won't even know we're there." Her eyes pleaded. "It's been years, Jaz. I can't keep hiding. I won't."

What can you say to that? It had taken Bella a long time to be able to find her voice and fight for what she needed, but on the other hand…she was right. Jake was going to flip. Then he was going to tie her to a chair, stuff her in the closet, and keep her there until the baby came. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Wolves are protective of their mates and their young. There was no way he would send all of his all the way across the ocean, even if it was only for a year. And the part of Jake that was human would hate the fact that if Bella left, there was a very good chance he'd miss his baby's birth.

"Sounds like you could use some time away from that luscious hubby of yours to figure things out. Want to hang with me while I'm in town?"

Her voice was nonchalant, but I knew where Max was going with this and I loved her for it. She'd get Bella out of the situation, calm her down, and help her dig through her options. Maybe they'd be able to work something out that wasn't going to break her husband's heart.

"Could I? That would be awesome."

Bella immediately pulled out her phone and started to text, but there was still something niggling at my brain-a question that needed to be answered.

"So, just to clarify, you're not running back to Edward?"

"God no," she said absently, fingers clicking over the keys on her phone. "That was over a long time ago. I've moved on, and so has he."

"Edward's dating someone else?"

Not that I expected Carlisle to keep me abreast of everything his family was doing, but we had been known to have a conversation every now and again. I always made it a point to ask about Edward, since he'd been so careful to keep his time in Forks to a minimum since he and Bella broke up. I was worried about his mental state; whatever else you could say about Edward (and I had plenty), he had been very much in love with Bella, and while he wished her nothing but the best I knew their separation still hurt. It seemed odd that at no point in those conversations had he mentioned Edward was seeing someone new, just to put my mind at ease. Carlisle was usually more considerate than that.

"Yeah, some girl he met in Venice. She's an actress on tour with some big troupe at the moment. They see each other when she's home." Bella shrugged. "He seems happy enough."

My mind was spinning round and round so fast trying to process everything Bella had just told me that I didn't notice the faintly discernible buzz coming from inside my purse. A second later I heard it again, this time from the beeper Max always kept clipped to her waist. I never used my pager, so it really shouldn't have come as a surprise that I didn't recognize it.

Glancing down at the message, my blood ran cold. It was from Carlisle.

Jared and Kim's daughter had been attacked.


	7. Chapter 7

**Quil**

The next morning started bright and early with a crick in my neck and a nasty taste in my mouth. I blinked my eyes open and realized I had passed out on the floor of the living room. What the hell? Oh yeah. Jake, Andy and a flask of my dad's best moonshine. Jake really should have known better, an opinion I'm pretty sure he shared when he opened his eyes and groaned.

"My throat feels like I poured battery acid down it," he hissed, speaking softly so he wouldn't wake up Andy, who was still sleeping soundly on his lap. "What the hell happened?"

"You came over here with a flask of the Quil Sr. Special, and you and Andy proceeded to get completely sloshed."

I stood up, rolling out the kinks from my toes to my head. I could sleep anywhere when I was a wolf, but my human self had definitely distinguished the difference between my comfortable mattress and the hardwood floor I'd spent weeks laying in that living room. Or between the floor and the comfortable cotton tick at Jaz's house, which was where I would have been last night (for a while, at least) if the idiot in front of me hadn't pushed me into acting like an ass.

"Right."

Jake slapped his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. I knew he was thinking about Bella.

"You need to talk to her man."

All right, not the most tactful way to start the day, but hey, I was stiff, sore, disgruntled and more than a little frustrated. There's only so much you can expect from a guy at 4:30 in the morning. Jacob shuddered.

"I know, it's just…I'd honestly rather face an entire band of feral vampires than have this conversation with her again. It's like we're teenagers again, stuck on replay, you know?"

Valid point. Bella had dished out so much rejection over the years, I couldn't blame him for not being in any hurry to sign on the dotted line for more. He gently shifted Andy over to the end of the couch.

"Did Embry ever come home last night?"

Jake shrugged.

"If he did, I didn't hear him. He'd better have a damned good explanation for last night when I get my hands on him though. She doesn't deserve this."

We both looked over at Andy, who had curled into one of the dark green throw pillows we'd teased her mercilessly about buying. The exhausted smudges under her eyes and the deep, steady rhythm of her breathing testified to the fact that the poor kid hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Whatever he was doing, Embry was hurting her. Badly. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and at least let him explain before I ripped out his throat. I was fairly certain Jake, who had put her through college and given her away at her wedding, wouldn't be quite so understanding.

He sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair.

"Mind if I grab a shower while I'm here? I've got a change of clothes at the garage. I just…I'm not quite ready to go back home and have her not be there, you know? I'll have to get used to it sooner or later, but…"

"Not today," I finished for him, nodding my head toward the back. "Help yourself. You know where everything is."

"Thanks bro."

He clapped a hand on my shoulder, then wandered off down the hallway. I whooshed out a breath, scrubbing my hands on the back of my neck to relieve some of the tension as I watched him go. He'd nearly fallen apart a hundred times after Bella tossed him over for the leech last time, and that was back when he'd thought he didn't have a chance. How much worse was it going to be to lose her now that he'd actually had her?

Maybe I'd swing by the Cullens' and see if I couldn't drag some answers out of her today. I still couldn't quite stomach the idea that Bella would cold-bloodedly knock him down like that. Of course, if I went by Vampire Central I was going to see Jaz, which meant…

"Hey!"

"Yeah?"

Jake poked his head out around the corner of the bathroom, eyebrows scrunched, glaring meaningfully at the couch. Oops. I'd gotten so wrapped up in thinking about what I was going to say to Bella (and how much groveling I was going to have to do when I saw Jaz again) I'd nearly forgotten Andy was passed out only a few feet away.

"I need to run into Port Angeles and pick up some stuff, then swing by the clinic and see if I can't dig myself out of the doghouse. You care if I come in a little late?"

"What did you do this time?"

I grimaced.

"Listened to you guys. Jaz found out about that stupid bet, and she was…ah…unamused."

His eyes crinkled as he struggled not to laugh.

"That would explain why you were in such a bad mood last night."

Scowling, I looked pointedly at the couch and the empty flask on the table.

"Like you've got any stones to throw."

Jacob sobered instantly.

"You're right. Yeah, do what you need to do. I'll see you when you get there." He paused. "Hey Quil? If you're going by the Cullens', would you…"

"Check on Bella?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I know, it's pathetic, but I can't stand not knowing if she's alright, and I'm not quite ready to hear her tell me she's leaving-or even worse, have her lie to my face because she doesn't think that I know and she hasn't figured out the right way to tell me yet."

"You know, that's going to be a real bitch when she's in Italy with the leech and you're all the way over here."

Yes, it was mean, but the man was being a pushover. If she were my wife I'd have been howling on the Cullens' front porch last night until she got that pretty little ass of hers downstairs and started giving me some answers. She'd done such a number on Jake all those years ago that he was afraid to rock the boat, happier to live in limbo than hear her tell him it was over. Just because I was right didn't mean I liked watching him flinch the minute the hard, cold reality of it was stuffed in his face though.

"Sorry," I grumbled. "None of my business. I'll check up on your girl for you."

"Thanks man."

He ducked his head back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Shaking my head, I hustled upstairs to grab my own shower, shave and toss on some respectable clothes. Dragging a comb through my hair, I smiled wryly at myself in the mirror and splashed on some aftershave. Hey, when a girl's making you grovel, you might's well do it right, right?

Any hope of getting to Port Angeles and back before noon was dashed the minute I stepped out the front door and saw Sam sitting on the steps.

"Hey man."

He looked back over his shoulder, giving me a quick nod before turning back to stare out over the driveway. The rigid set to his shoulders and the stiff lines of his back told me this wasn't a social call, and I couldn't help but sigh as I dropped down next to him. The silence dragged on. Although few and far between, there were times I really wished the whole mind link thing worked when we were human as well as it did when we were wolves. It was so much easier to pluck information out of each other's heads than it was to actually have to have a conversation.

"This thing attacked Lara last night."

All of the air sucked out of my chest like a deflated balloon. Lara was Jared and Kim's oldest, a bouncy first grader with red in her hair and a smile that made you want to hang around, just to see what she was going to say next. She reminded me of Claire sometimes, when I let myself poke around at that old wound again, full of this incredible zest for life. I remembered only too well how it had felt to watch Claire lay on that stretcher on the ride to the hospital, her life slipping away in tiny pieces so that by the time they unloaded her at the ER she was already gone. It just took her heart a little longer to figure that out. Lara…

"Quil! Quil! Damn it, calm down!"

I realized I was sucking in air far too fast, my hands trembling with the need to phase and go tear whatever this thing was to shreds. I grabbed on to control with two slippery fingers, concentrating on Sam's steady voice.

"Is she…?"

Sam shook his head.

"Not yet, but it doesn't look good. Jared and Kim are up there with her right now. I need you to take Jared's spot on patrol until…"

His voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant. Until they knew whether or not Lara was going to live and, if she didn't, whether it was going to be safe to let Jared out without Sam or Jake there to keep him in check.

"How's little Sam doing?"

"We don't know yet. They spouted a whole bunch of five syllable words at me I didn't really understand, but the bottom line is while they've managed to contain whatever's killing him, they can't get it out of his system. They were operating on him this morning to try and slow it down until they can figure out what's going on."

"So what are you doing here instead of sitting up there waiting for him to come out of it?"

He shifted uncomfortably, then confessed, "Emily's up there."

Ah.

"She's still mad at you?"

Sam snorted, clasping his hands and staring blankly ahead with the dull hopelessness of a man facing a death sentence.

"She kicked me out, shipped all my clothes over to Jared's. She's completely convinced that everything that happened to Sam is my fault, and…" he paused, taking in a deep breath before the words tumbled out in a whoosh, "she's making sure I don't get anywhere near Abram so it doesn't happen again."

Ouch. That would explain why he was sitting on my front steps instead of at the clinic. That had been a low blow on Emily's part. Everyone knew Sam was crazy about his kids. He'd spent hours walking the floor when both Sam Jr. and Abram were born, and he seemed to have a bottomless well of patience when it came to the childish nonsense that drove the rest of us nuts. To imply that he was not only responsible for Sam's injury, but also a threat to Abram too…That was hitting below the belt.

"Jesus, what is it with irrational women this week?"

"Is there any other kind?"

The laugh escaped before I could help myself.

"Doesn't seem like it. First Emily goes nuts because you took your kid on a field trip, then Jaz completely flips out over a stupid bet, then Bella decides she's taking Billy and taking off for Italy."

"Bella's doing what?"

Sam's head had snapped around to look at me, eyes narrowed. Oh crap. Probably should have let Jake fill him in on this one.

"I don't have all the details, but Jake showed up here last night drunk as a skunk. Apparently Bella resigned from the school back in May, and the leech mailed her two tickets to Italy for her and the squirt."

"Holy hell." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "This just keeps getting better and better. How's Jacob taking it?"

I shrugged.

"About as well as you'd expect. He and Andy got rip-roaring drunk on Dad's moonshine last night, and he's planning on breaking Embry's face when he gets to work for not coming home last night, and he refuses to go back to his own house because Bella's staying at the Cullens' while Max is in town and he can't deal with being on his own, but other than that, he's just peachy."

"Marvelous." Then the rest of what I'd said seemed to sink in. "Embry didn't come home last night?"

"Nope. Andy says he's been making a habit out of staying out all night. No clue where he is or what he's been doing. All I can tell you is he popped up at 2 o'clock yesterday dressed to kill saying he had some stuff to take care of, and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

"God, this is starting to sound like a bad sitcom. Is Embry coming into work today?"

"I haven't heard otherwise."

He sighed, standing up and shaking out his arms.

"You guys need an extra set of hands today? I obviously need to talk to Embry anyway, may as well make myself useful."

I frowned. Sam was good with a wrench, and we could always use the extra help, but…

"Don't you need to get back to the clinic so you can be there when Sam Jr. wakes up?"

"Not really," he said, shaking his head. "Carlisle said he'd be under for the rest of the day; since they can't really judge how much morphine to give him, and they don't know how long it'll take for him to start healing, Jazmine is going to keep him knocked out as much as possible so he's not in any more pain. That means all I'd be able to do is sit there and listen to Emily bitch at me about what a bad father I am, or worse, watch her give me the silent treatment, and I'm just not up for that."

"And headquarters isn't going to care if you don't show up at QTE?"

His position as head of the pack had made Sam a prime candidate to head up the Quileute Tribal Enterprises, the organization that basically kept things running in La Push.

Sam shook his head again.

"No, when I got Emily's phone call that Sam had been attacked and they didn't know if he was going to make it I took time off, just in case, so I could be there for both of them. Only Sam's not going to know the difference, and Emily doesn't want me there, and I need something to keep me busy or I'm going to go crazy."

"I'm sure as hell not going to say no."

We both looked back to see Jake, freshly showered and looking something resembling human, standing in the doorway. He tipped his chin at Sam.

"Want to catch a ride in with me, and I'll drop you by the Cullens' on my way home?"

Sam nodded, and the two of them hopped into Jake's truck and took off. Shaking my head-when had all of this turned into a bad episode of "Jerry Springer"?-I pulled out my own keys. If I was going to be running double patrols for who knew how long, I was going to have to make the most of this morning off to patch up my own personal life.

An hour and a half later I was standing in line at the coffee shop in Port Angeles feeling extremely proud of myself. I'd managed to score a massive bag of the gourmet blend, along with a big tray of the chocolate truffle things the girls were always drooling over. Hopefully I'd be able to use that to bribe some answers out of Bella. All in all, not a bad day's work.

"A man who knows his coffee _and_ his chocolate. I don't suppose there's another one of you running around, is there?"

The soft, accented voice floated up from behind me, bringing with it the lightly floral scent of that herbal shampoo Andy stocked up on every once in a while. I turned around, mouth open to make some brilliant observation about being well trained (because really, what woman didn't love to hear that?), only to have my brain wiped clean by the brown eyes staring back at me as something wild raised its head inside my chest.

She was almost ethereally lovely in a way that left me feeling as though I'd taken a hit to the solar plexus. Her lightly bronzed skin, slight build and Hispanic features, coupled with the thick, erotic accent that tinted her otherwise perfect English and the sweet, lush curves that stood out even under her t-shirt and jeans, lured me in like a fish on a hook.

"You're shopping for your…girlfriend?"

Her eyes danced with amusement, and I quickly reeled myself in.

"Friend," I corrected, smiling down at her. "Well, my friend and my best friend's wife. Even dibs on who's going to walk away with it at the end of the day."

She laughed, lightly dancing her fingers up along my arm, leaving tingling trails of electricity behind before scraping her fingernails along the edge of my sleeve. Something inside my chest shifted, constricted, and for one stunning, blinding moment, she was the only thing I could see. It was like…

…Like my world had narrowed, and the only thing in it was her.

I jerked back, surprised. Jaz had hinted that sooner or later my wolf would imprint again, but with the ache over Claire's death still so fresh and vivid I had figured it wouldn't happen for a few more decades at least. That it happened now, standing in line at a coffee shop in Port Angeles, was nothing short of astonishing. That she was my age, if not a little older, and drop dead gorgeous to boot…well, let's just say it opened a refreshing new door of possibilities after imprinting on a toddler the first time around.

"Is everything all right?"

Her eyes narrowed in concern, and I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face.

"Beautiful." I set the coffee and chocolate on the counter, digging out my wallet and handing over my credit card before holding out my hand. "I'm Quil."

"Maria." She slipped her hand in mine and stepped closer, tipping her chin up, and for a moment the urge to kiss that beautiful mouth was irresistible. I think I probably would have, if the man behind the counter hadn't pointedly cleared his throat.

"Your receipt, sir."

Flushing, I stuffed the receipt in my pocket, scooped up the bag and stepped out of the way. Maria ordered her latte, then leaned against the counter flirtatiously.

"So, Quil, do guys with great taste in coffee and chocolate still eat breakfast?"

She slipped her hand in mine and we walked almost mindlessly down Main Street, talking about everything and nothing before ducking into a small café. Before I knew it two hours had rolled past, and if I didn't get my ass in gear I wasn't going to have time to go back to the Cullens' before I had to head in to the garage if I wanted to be done before midnight.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked with a pout when I stood up, fumbling for a minute before I pulled out her chair so she could do the same. There was something about Maria that made me feel like I was an awkward teenager again.

"Yeah, I have to drop these off, then get to work."

"Quil Ateara, you wouldn't really leave without giving me a phone number, would you?"

Relief rushed through me as I gave her my number and she gave me hers, carefully enunciating each number so I would understand. We walked hand in hand back to my truck, making plans to see each other again that weekend, then she floored me by wrapping her arms around me and tugging me down for a soft kiss.

"Forgive me," she said, flushing, stepping back. "That was forward. I don't know what came over me."

Well, what can you do about that? I reached out, pulling her back against me to leisurely explore her lips, keeping my touch light until both of us were clinging to each other and gasping for air.

"There's just something about you, Quil," she murmured, eyes glowing as she lightly traced her fingers along my cheek. "I don't know what it is yet, but there's definitely something about you."

I knew, but conversations about magic and imprinting and oh, yeah, the fact that I turned into a giant, hairy wolf just weren't first date material. So I simply bent down and kissed her again, then slipped behind the wheel of my truck and drove away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jaz**

Slow, dragging bleeps from the monitor in the corner. The rush of air through the respirator. The steady beep of the transfusion unit I had running through Lara's arm. Kim's ragged sobs and Jared's reassuring voice as they squeezed their daughter's hands, doing their best to hold on to hope.

Max and Carlisle were downstairs in the lab trying to manufacture a miracle while I sat in Lara's room, doing my best to keep her heart beating long enough for that miracle to appear. My eyes burned, my limbs grew heavy with fatigue and the minutes dragged past, and I was slowly becoming certain that all I was really doing was delaying the inevitable. When the monitors flat-lined, giving off a dull screech that protested the passing of this little girl who had never had a chance to live, I was very, very sorry to be right.

There was a certain surrealism in the minutes after that. I would remember later pushing Kim out of the way to get to her daughter, pulling the defibrillator off the wall, sending jolt after jolt of electricity through Lara's tiny body. Knowing even as I set the paddles aside and started doing CPR that it was going to be too little, too late. The venom rolling through her veins hadn't left me anything to resuscitate.

The only comfort I could offer her parents when I announced time of death was that she had too much wolf blood in her for the venom to turn her into a vampire.

Nothing. That was what we'd been able to do to help poor Lara. Absolutely nothing. The venom that had rushed through her system from two long, thin furrows in her back had devoured the vampire anti-venom along with Lara's own blood. The poison quickly became septic, shutting down system after system while we raced to keep up. We'd thrown everything we had at it, and it hadn't been enough.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I changed out of the dress I'd worn to the restaurant just the night before, the dress I'd thrown a lab coat over and forgotten when I'd arrived to see Lara convulsing in the first of what felt like hundreds of seizures that night. There was nothing we could have done, nothing we didn't do, but that didn't stop the guilt from raging through my body as Kim's anguished screams echoed down the hall. I badly wanted to sit with her, give her a shoulder to cry on, but I knew I wouldn't be welcome. Not yet. Kim didn't blame me (she and Jared had actually thanked me before I walked out of the room) but I was the doctor that had let their little girl die. It was going to be a long time before that stopped being the first thing she thought of when she looked at me. So I left her in Jared and Emily's hands, scrubbed up and prepared to do what I could for the child who was still alive.

Carlisle looked up from Sam Jr's small frame, those amber eyes softening behind the mask he wore (more, I suspected, out of habit than actual necessity) when I walked into the makeshift operating room I'd helped him build shortly after arriving in Forks.

"There was nothing else you could have possibly done," he said gently.

I dredged up a smile as Max clipped into the room, snapping the gloves on over her fingers.

"I know. Doesn't make it hurt any less."

Those were the last words spoken for almost four hours while we operated on little Sam, carefully removing pieces of deadened tissue and scooping out infected skin and muscle until the wound was clean, clear and sterile. Carlisle had discovered that the remaining poison had mixed with the anti-venom to form cysts on his internal organs, and we decided while we had him on the table to go in and remove as many as possible to give his immune system a fighting chance. It was tedious, and incredibly frustrating. Over and over again we'd think we had them all, only to find another hidden just out of sight, but we cheered like idiots when we lifted out the last one from the top of his spleen and his body immediately began to regenerate.

We'd monitor him closely, but it looked like Sam Jr. was going to be okay. The question now was, why wasn't Lara?

People often ask how doctors can stand to lose a patient. The simple truth is that life keeps moving. I still had a full queue of appointments, so even though the only thing I wanted to do was go home, change into my pajamas and forget this day ever happened I tossed on the clothes Rosalie was kind enough to lend me and smiled at the nervous young woman sitting in Exam Room 1.

It was the beginning of a very, very long day. Everyone on the reservation had heard about Lara, and most of them wanted a healthy dose of gossip along with their prescription. My ears were ringing, my nerves were shot and I was so tired I could barely see straight when Quil walked through the door.

"Woah." He looked around the packed waiting room. "Someone declare a plague I didn't hear about?"

"Something like that." I waved him back to my office. It was lunch time, damn it, and I was pretty sure I had some caffeine stashed around here somewhere. "We lost Lara this morning."

"Oh no." His eyes melted in concern, and he sat the bag he was carrying down on the floor to wrap me up in a tight hug. "I'm sorry Jaz. How're Jared and Kim?"

I laid my pounding head gratefully against his chest, taking comfort from the heat of his body and the feel of his sturdy arms wrapped around me. In just a minute I was going to have to go back out there and see the censure in another pair of eyes, but for right now I could just relax and breathe in the warm, sweet essence that was so very…Quil.

"Kim's a wreck. Jared's trying to be strong, but he's pretty torn up. Emily's down there with them right now."

He squeezed me once, firmly, then stepped back.

"I'll go down there and check on them in a minute, but first…" He stooped down, reaching into the bag and pulling something out with a flourish. My insides went weak when I saw the gourmet French roast in his hand. "You look like you could use this."

"Oh my god, yes." I snatched the bag out of his hand and made a beeline for the coffee maker that held a place of honor on top of my filing cabinets. "Quil, you are a god. Seriously. Ask, and it shall be yours. After I've had about 15 hours of sleep."

Chuckling, he walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, his thumbs proficiently pressing into the tight muscles at the base of my neck.

"I'd survive you endlessly singing my praises if I had no other choice, but it seems a little redundant since I bought it to say I'm sorry for being an ass," he said, his voice suddenly serious.

I glanced quizzically over my shoulder.

"I knew you were pissed I let the guys talk me into making that bet," he clarified. "I shouldn't have. It was stupid, it was inconsiderate, and I'm sorry."

Melting. I was pretty sure I was melting as I stood there, his hands hot on my shoulders, his face earnest as he proved for the millionth time that he wasn't a complete jerk after all. Most guys wouldn't have even realized I was mad. Quil had felt bad enough about it to drive all the way to Port Angeles for _coffee _just to make it up to me. I leaned back against his chest, slipping my head into the familiar hollow of his shoulder while his arms wrapped automatically around my waist.

"You brought me coffee. I guess I have to forgive you now."

"And truffles." The smug tone of his voice made me smile. "I believe in covering my bases."

"Well, how can I say no to a man who comes bearing coffee and truffles?" I snuggled in, watching the sweet brown nectar drip slowly while the water sizzled and popped on the plate. "Why don't you come by for dinner tonight? We'll see what we can do about accepting that apology."

He tensed, his arms slowly sliding out from around me as he took a step back. I missed his heat immediately.

"Ah…that's probably not such a good idea."

The discomfort in his voice was unfamiliar enough to have me abandoning my dedicated quest to prove that a watched coffee pot does, indeed, eventually choke out enough of that heavenly black brew to fill up a coffee mug and turning to stare at him in surprise. I'd heard Quil angry, heartbroken, happy, smug and yes, downright arrogant, but I didn't think that I'd ever heard him sound quite so…formal.

"Why not?"

He shifted from foot to foot, deliberately looking over my head. A sick feeling took root in the middle of my stomach. It seemed to take an eternity for the words he was searching for to make it from some cosmic corner of the universe to his brain, then finally out of his mouth.

"Look, Jaz, you're awesome. You know that. And the past 5 years have been…amazing. I just…" He paused, took a deep breath and finally tipped his face down so I could see into his eyes. "I can't do this anymore. This whole friends with benefits thing, I mean. I met someone."

I stared at him blankly, the words refusing to compute. He met someone? Of course he met someone. Hundreds of people had their cars fixed at Wolfpack. He'd probably met half of Washington. Then the pity in his eyes finally clicked. He hadn't just met someone. He'd _met_ someone. Slowly, my hands trembling, I reached up to touch his face, only to jerk back a moment later as if I had been burned when a pair of laughing brown eyes danced across my field of vision.

"Oh my god," I breathed. "You imprinted again."

Now that I saw it, I didn't know how I had missed it. The link was there, a thin gold cord connecting his soul to hers that would solidify with the passing of time. Quil imprinted. The words pounded inside my head, keeping time with the throbbing beat of the pulse just behind my eyes. Quil's lips were moving, but I was so disoriented it took me a minute to realize what he was trying to say.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…I didn't want…" He pulled his hand through his hair in frustration. He was actually trying to apologize for imprinting.

"I know you didn't." I didn't have it in me to make him feel guilty about this. It wasn't his fault. "Congratulations. Who is she?"

So we stood there in my office, the sun shining through the slats in the blinds at my back, the smell of coffee floating on the air, while Quil broke my heart one piece at a time.

"She's amazing Jaz," he said earnestly, reaching out to squeeze my fingers. "I can't wait for you to meet her."

I smiled weakly.

"Me either."

"Listen, I know you've still got patients, and I need to get to work or Jake's gonna skin me." He looked at me hopefully. "Still friends?"

What was I going to say to that? 'You're one of the best friends I've ever had, but I don't want to be around you anymore because somewhere along the way I was stupid and fell in love with you, and now I don't think I'm going to be able to stomach knowing you're in love with someone else?' Yeah, that would just be the cherry on top of the perfect day.

"We always were."

Grinning, he danced over to the bag. Pulling out a circular box of what I was guessing were the truffles he'd mentioned, he asked, "Have you seen Bella? I need to talk to her, and half of these are hers."

Bella? It took me a minute to remember why Quil would be looking for Bella here.

"I think she's upstairs with Emmett and Rosalie."

"Awesome."

He bent down, kissed me on the cheek and strode out, truffles in hand. I managed to smile until I heard the latch on the door click shut behind him. Then my knees gave way and I sank gracelessly onto the floor, my breath coming in quick pants as I tried to process what had just happened. Quil had imprinted. I'd always known I wasn't going to get to keep him. I'd known even before I looked into those brown eyes and felt something slick and slippery slide around my heart that he was never meant for me. I'd been greedy, wallowing in our time together without stopping to plan for when it was all going to end. Now that it was here, now that I was never going to feel his lips on mine again, never going to lose myself in his arms again, I felt like I was falling apart. Spots danced in front of my eyes and I leaned forward, pressing my forehead into the carpet and sucking in deep, steady breaths while I tried to bring all the pieces back together again.

"Jazmine? Are you alright?"

Cold, gentle fingers stroked down the back of my burning neck. I looked up into Carlisle's compassionate eyes as he knelt on the floor beside me, his black slacks gathering dust from the floorboards I never remembered to clean. He knew. Of course he knew. His office was right across the hall, he'd have heard the whole thing. He bent down, placing a light kiss on the top of my head and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. It was too much.

I laid my head in his lap and wept.


	9. Chapter 9

**Quil**

Carlisle was usually such a laid-back guy that it was easy to forget vampires that couldn't dish out some serious hurt didn't live very long. He'd been standing in the doorway to his office when I slipped out of Jaz's, and from the look he was giving me I had a feeling I didn't want him coming near me with any needles-ever. I wasn't sure what his problem was, other than the fact that he'd never liked this whole casual thing I had going with Jaz, but I wasn't going to be turning my back on him any time soon.

Jaz. I winced. That conversation had gone better than I thought it would. Normally, women didn't take it well when you told them you were dumping them for someone else, no matter how strange your relationship happens to be. Then again, no one had ever accused Jaz of being normal.

Didn't stop me from feeling crappy about having to see "that" look on her face before she'd covered it up though. The one that practically screams, 'You're a rat bastard, but I'm gonna take the high road and let you live'. I suddenly had a whole new sympathy for Sam and the mess he'd been in with Leah. Imprinting didn't really leave you with a whole lot of good choices. At least Jaz wasn't nearly as evil as the SuperBitch (and I meant that in the nicest sense of the word). I was pretty certain we could live with each other without one of us chasing the other all the way down the coast.

Speaking of which…ah hell. Leah's wedding was next week. I'd done my best to forget about it. Weddings weren't my thing. There was the dressing up, and the sitting through some god awful long ceremony, and the dressing up, and the having to be polite to people you didn't know and/or particularly like, and the dressing up…She'd string me up and use me for a chew toy just for the hell of it if I tried to bail out though, so it looked like I'd be there with bells on.

Metaphorically speaking, of course. Don't want to give her any ideas.

Besides, this was one case where curiosity was going to kill the wolf. Leah was supposed to marry some guy from Jaz's old tribe, and they were having the ceremony down there-mostly, I suspected, so Leah didn't have to feel bad about not inviting Sam. It would be kind of cool to see some of these other shapeshifters she kept talking about, and I had to admit, I was more than a little curious about Jaz herself. There had to be someone there that could dish up some dirt on her I could hold over her head for the next 50 years or so.

Something slammed into me with the force of a bullet, and I found myself caught flat on my back under a laughing Alice.

"Tag, you're it!" she chimed cheerily, hopping up and zipping on down the hall. I just laid there on the floor for a second, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then, with a devilish grin, I got up and streaked after her. Turn down the opportunity to chase down a vamp, even if I _didn't_ get to kill it on the other end? You gotta be kidding me.

I caught up with her in the kitchen, where Bella was feeding a giggling Billy, Emmett and Jasper were arm wrestling at the table and Esme was yelling laughing threats from the stove about what she was going to do when they broke her table.

"Gotchya!"

Pulling her down in a head lock, I liberally applied my knuckles to her scalp while the rest of the Cullen clan cracked up. For a vampire, Alice was pretty cool. She was everyone's favorite little sister, even though she was older than most of the pack put together.

"Hey Quil, you want in on this?"

Emmett grinned, flexing his biceps while he pinned Jasper. Dude would have been scary even if he wasn't a vamp.

"Nah, that's all right. I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your girl."

Rosalie, who was peering over Bella's shoulder making faces at the runt, looked over and breezily flipped her hair.

"Oh, don't let that stop you. He embarrasses himself in front of me all the time."

Emmett scowled at her, then smiled.

"Now I have to redeem myself. Sit down Quil."

"I'll have a plate ready for you when you're done."

Esme smiled at me, and that was enough to have me firmly planting my butt in a chair and popping my arm up on the table. I was probably about to embarrass _myself_, not Cullen, but even humiliation tasted better when you washed it down with a healthy helping of Esme's pasta. For a dead girl, she was a hell of a cook.

I actually managed to stay in the game for longer than 5 seconds, which was apparently Jasper's record, so I was feeling pretty proud of myself when Esme dished up a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs and they all settled in to…watch me eat? Damn vampires were creepy.

"What's that?"

Alice's eyes were bright with curiosity, her fingers tapping against the edge of the box of truffles I'd brought up for Bella.

"It's chocolate. Picked some up for Bella and Jaz. Want some?"

The little imp actually thought about it for a minute, then shook her head.

"Wouldn't taste nearly as good."

"You bought me chocolate?"

Bella was looking at me with wide eyes from the end of the table, and I squirmed at the pleased surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, well, you have to share," I finally muttered. I was definitely having an off day if I couldn't come up with anything better than that.

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, shit." I scrambled around, finally finding a towel and handing it to Bella. "Cut that out."

"Sorry." She smiled. "It's just…it's been a long time since anyone brought me chocolates just for the hell of it. That was very kind of you, thank you."

My face was on fire, and everyone at the table was snickering. Well hell, just because they couldn't cry. Actually, come to think of it, Jasper and Emmett had it easy.

"I wanted to talk to you for a second. Can we…?"

I jerked my head toward the windows behind me, hoping she'd get the hint that I wanted to take a walk outside, away from the ears that I knew would be glued to every word I said.

"Sure. Rosalie, would you…?"

She hadn't even finished the sentence before the blond swooped in, grabbed Billy and took off. Everyone else was right behind her, and in a matter of seconds we were standing alone in the kitchen.

"Still want to take a walk?"

Her eyes were amused, and I couldn't help but smile when I opened the door. We walked in peaceful silence for a few minutes until we were out of sight of the house, then she stopped and turned to me.

"All right Quil, what's going on? Buying me chocolates, taking me for walks. If I didn't know better I'd think you were seriously starting to think about trying to get me to run away with you."

She smiled, those brown eyes of hers all but dancing in delight, but the reminder of what I had come here to talk about sobered me up quick.

"No, I don't want to run away with you, but I'd sure as hell like to know why you're running away from Jake."

Bella froze. She'd been spending too much time with the leeches, because she'd almost managed that creepy stillness they had when they forgot to be human.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that your husband showed up completely wasted on my doorstep last night babbling about 2 tickets to Italy and you taking Billy and running off with the leech."

"He found the tickets?" She closed her eyes, squinching up her face the way Claire used to when she played peek-a-boo. "Oh hell."

I studied her carefully. I'd been all set for tears, excuses, anger-hell, anything but this. If this was a woman who was planning on leaving her husband she was being pretty chill about it, and Bella was never chill about anything.

"What's going on, Bella?"

Unexpectedly, a chuckle bubbled up out of her chest.

"Well, that settles that, anyways." She slanted a look at me from under her lashes. "Did Jake tell you to come talk to me?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean…" I huffed out a breath. "He knows I'm here, because I needed to talk to Jaz, and I told him I'd check on you while I was at it. He didn't know I was going to ask you about the tickets."

And he'd probably rip my throat out if he did. I didn't think I needed to share that part though.

"Look, Quil, no offense, but it's really none of your business." Bella held up a hand when I started to protest. "I'm not going to tell you what's going on, but I promise, I'll talk to Jacob."

"Tonight."

She paused, then nodded. "Tonight."

"And you're not leaving him to go running back to the leech?"

That disapproving look she gave me belonged on a sexy stripper schoolteacher.

"I'm not going back to _Edward_, if that's who you're talking about. As to whether or not I'm leaving…well, that's between me and Jake."

The blood rushed to my face (again) when she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Thanks for being such a good friend to him, Quil," she said softly, before she turned and headed back toward the house. I guess that was the best I was going to get.

When I rolled into the garage an hour later, I was surprised to see Embry's feet poking out from underneath the Ford Explorer with the cracked engine block. Remembering yesterday, I grinned and gave the bottom of his cart a kick.

"Ow!"

He glared up at me as the cart came shooting out.

"I'm a little surprised to see Jake left you with all your parts." I nodded at his pants. "Unless, of course, there's something you'd like to tell me."

Embry snorted.

"Nah, Sam made him back off."

"So Jake and Sam already talked to you?"

Rolling his eyes, Embry scooted back under the truck. I leaned over the open hood so I could still see his face.

"Yeah, they talked to me. The usual lecture on respect, responsibility, blah blah blah."

"Starting to sound like your wife there, Em," I said mildly, remembering Andy's broken, tear-streaked face. "I'm a little surprised to see she hasn't castrated you yet. From what I understand, last night wasn't the first night your boots haven't been parked under your own bed."

Another loud snort came from under the truck.

"Dude, if you spent more time in your bed and less time in Jazmine's you'd have known that already, so lay off, alright?"

"Nope." I bared my teeth at him. "I like Andy, and I was the one who made sure she and Jake didn't do anything stupid while they were getting sloshed off their respective asses last night on my Dad's signature blend. I'm also the one who covered for you when you bailed out early to go do whatever, so I figure that means I'm entitled to an explanation."

"Dream on." Then he stopped, sniffed. "Dude, are you wearing _cologne_?"

"Aftershave, you cretin. It's aftershave. And I wouldn't be if I hadn't let you two talk me into making that stupid bet."

It took him a second, but he got it.

"Jaz wasn't happy?"

"Jaz wasn't happy."

"Ah well. You sweet talked your way out of the doghouse, right?"

I shifted, just a little. A human wouldn't have thought anything of it, but wolves are all about body language. Embry's eyes immediately zoomed in on mine.

"She's not still pissed, is she? Girlfriend could seriously shut down operations around here if you manage to get on her bad side."

"No, she's not still pissed. At least, not about that."

"So what is she pissed about?"

"I broke it off."

Hmmm. I hadn't given any thought to how I was going to explain the fact that I'd imprinted to the guys. Looked like I'd better come up with something quick though, before Embry's gaping hole of a mouth attracted half of Forks's fly population. Actually, now that I thought about it…

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"I guess my wolf decided it's been long enough since it got some of that metaphysical lovin'."

"You _imprinted? _Again?_"_

Oh shit. I smiled weakly at Jake and Sam, who were poised like two massive, muscular bookends on either side of the doors to the garage.

"Yeah, well, so much for that whole 'imprinting being abnormal' theory, right?" I lifted a shoulder to say, 'What the hell you gonna do?' "Jaz said it would happen sooner or later. Guess she was right."

"Does Jaz know?"

Jake was scowling at me. Sam was just standing there, although I had a feeling of the two of them he was the one who was most interested in my answer. He was the only other one who'd been in anything resembling a relationship when he imprinted.

"I stopped by and talked to her before I came out here. She knows. And yes, I broke it off, and we're cool, so don't ask."

"Did you see Jared and Kim?"

"Yeah. Lara didn't make it."

Sam closed his eyes, then turned and headed for the phone. I knew he was calling to check up on Jared, make sure he didn't lose it and start eating people. Then I remembered what Alice had said right before I left.

"Hey, Sam!"

"What?"

"Sam's gonna be just fine."

He stopped with a conspicuous _screech_ of rubber on concrete, and I saw his shoulders slump with relief.

"He made it through surgery?"

Even though his back was turned, I could still hear him just fine. Didn't mean it wasn't still really freaking annoying. I walked around so I could see his face.

"Better. They got all the crap out of his system. He's healing up like he's supposed to. Carlisle says he wants to keep him for about a week, make sure he's going to be okay, but we're out of the woods."

"We need to catch whatever the hell is doing this," growled Embry, coming up behind us. "We still haven't found anything?"

"Not a trace," said Sam grimly, shaking his head. "It caught Lara right in her backyard. I don't know how it's getting around, but somehow it is, and it's slipping right past us. Maybe we should…"

Jake stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"'We' shouldn't do anything," he said firmly. "_You_ should get your ass to the clinic and see your kid, then try and patch things up with Emily so you can sleep in your own bed tonight."

I flinched, expecting Sam to take a swing, but he just grinned and disappeared. Since he left the phone on the hook, I figured he was heading out to the Cullens'. I turned back around to find Jake and Embry glaring at each other.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Jake snarled. "I hear you're still taking off on her like that and a black eye won't be all you get."

He stormed up to the office, leaving Embry and I down on the floor. Shaking my head, I pulled on my coveralls and grabbed a set of keys off the corkboard.

"Hey, you bringing your new girl to Leah's wedding?"

Embry's question made me pause.

"I dunno. Hadn't gotten that far yet. Why?"

He shrugged.

"Just figured you were going with Jaz. Wasn't sure how that would work out now that things are…different."

I grunted, which was enough of an answer for now, then turned and headed outside. On one hand, it would be great to introduce Maria to the pack, maybe start easing her into some of this supernatural crap. On the other, it was _Leah's wedding_. I wasn't sure I could be that mean to the woman I had to live with for the rest of my life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Jaz**

Nothing beats the resilience of children..especially wolf children. I laughed, standing at the Cullens' back door watching a rapidly recovering Sam Jr. wobble dangerously on his trip to the top of the slide while he followed his brother across the playground. It was hard to believe that only hours before he'd been standing at death's door.

It had been a day of emotional highs and lows, from losing Lara to saving Sam Jr. to losing Quil to watching the enterprising grade schooler work off some of the energy he'd somehow managed to build up spending two days-_two days_-in bed. Everyone was mentally and physically exhausted. Max had already called it a night. I was hanging on by a thread. Even Carlisle had holed up in his office, the lights off and the strains of Beethoven rolling out into the hallway, until I left and he had the unenviable job of trying to convince the rambunctious Sam that he still needed to rest.

"I'll never be able to thank you for this."

Emily's soft voice filtered out from the house as she stepped out to join me, breathing deeply and closing her eyes as she drank in the twilight.

"I'm just glad we were able to bring him back around." I smiled, scooting out of the way so she could see her son come flying back down. "Thank god for good genes and supernatural healing."

She sobered.

"Jared and Kim went back home. They said to tell you thank you again for everything you did."

The reminder of the futility of last night's race against the clock was a twist to my already overstressed heart. Fortunately, fatigue was making everything blurry around the edges. I knew I'd feel it in the morning, but right then all I wanted to do was hand Sam Jr. over to Carlisle, run a hot bath and sleep for the next 24 hours. Standing there in the first silence I'd had all day, however, I remembered that a doctor's job isn't always limited to treating the patient's body.

"Have you talked to Sam today?"

Sam's absence that afternoon had said more about what was going on between him and his wife than any conversation with the taciturn alpha ever would. Emily stuck her hands in her pockets, shifting to lean against the side of the house.

"No, I haven't." A beat, then, "The worst part is, I can't even blame him. I've been horrible to him. Even though it didn't make any sense I was so angry that he hadn't been here when Sam was hurt, then it was like I couldn't stop being mad. I'd get here and see Sam Jr. lying in that bed, and I'd want him so badly. Then I'd get home and see Sam's empty chair, or his toothbrush lying on the counter when I put Abram down, and these horrible words just started coming out of my mouth."

She flushed, looking down guiltily.

"I hit him with the frying pan."

The mental picture of tiny little Emily swinging a pan at Sam sent me over the edge. The exhaustion that had been hanging on my shoulders exploded into hysteria, and I laughed until tears rolled down my face. After a minute, Emily reluctantly joined in.

"Oh my god, did your pan survive?"

She made a face.

"Folded it double."

We roared, clutching our sides as we slid down to the ground.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?"

The sight of Sam's massive frame standing in the doorway, completely blocking the light, sent us into peals of laughter all over again. I finally managed to catch my breath enough to take the hand he offered and pull myself up.

"No, we subscribe to equal opportunity insanity around here. You're welcome to participate."

The skeptical tilt of his head reminded me so much of a curious dog that I almost doubled over in hysterics all over again. Emily was still sitting on the ground, the last hiccups of laughter bubbling out as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. I was tempted to stand there and chat with Sam for a while, both because I actually _liked_ the guy and because it was obvious from the longing looks he was shooting at his wife that he wished I was anywhere else, but since hanging out just to screw with Sam's personal life sounded more like something Jake and Quil would do than good ol' Jaz, and because as his physician I had a vested interest in making sure Sam Jr. went home to a healthy home environment (and yes, because I was a sap), I just reminded Emily to make sure Sam came in before too long and ducked back inside.

I did, however, shamelessly slip around to the corner of the hallway window where I could still see and hear the couple outside.

Sam stood with his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets, looking like he didn't really know what to do with himself. He looked over to where the imps who hadn't seen his arrival were running wild in Carlisle's back yard.

"It's amazing. If you hadn't seen him last night, you'd never know he'd been sick," he murmured.

"Yeah." Emily stood up, awkwardly brushing the dirt from her pants. "It's unbelievable, the way he's bouncing back."

The two of them just stood and stared at each other for a minute, and I had to fight the urge to shake them both. They were wasting time, and if there was one thing I'd learned from the horror that this day had become it was that time was far too precious to waste. Apparently Emily agreed with me, because she hesitantly stepped forward and slipped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. His arms immediately banded around her, pulling her tightly against him as he pressed his face into her hair.

"I'm sorry." There were tears streaming down her face and she spoke rapidly, as though she was trying to say what she had to say before she could change her mind. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Any of it. You're a wonderful father, and I know you'd never do anything to hurt the boys. I don't know why I said anything I've said since you got home."

"It's all right." His voice was gruff, and I saw a suspicious sheen in his own eyes. "I know sometimes it's easier to be angry than to be scared." He lifted his head, taking his arms from around her slim figure and framing her face with his hands. "Besides, I owe you a bigger apology than you'll ever owe me. I never, ever should have left you alone at our son's bedside, no matter what I was feeling. I'm never going to be able to make that up to you."

She sniffled.

"It's not like I gave you much of a choice."

Sam laughed loudly at that, pulling her back against him and squeezing her tightly.

"It's a good thing for both of us I have a hard head."

The two of them stood wrapped around each other while the sun dipped lower in the sky, and even from inside the house I could almost feel the love radiating off of them. Then Abram spotted his father, the two boys came running over, and the moment was broken. The curtain slipped slowly from my fingers as I eased down the hall, leaving the little family to welcome back its missing link with open arms.

Bella caught me right when I had my purse in hand reaching for the door.

"Hey, Jaz, got a second?"

'She's my best friend…I can't kill her…she's my best friend…I can't kill her…'

"What's up?"

Bella bit her lip, absently twirling a strand of hair around her finger while I did my best not to snap. There was a big pile of bubbles and a soft bed calling my name. Carlisle had given me the next day off to catch up on some sleep, and I had every intention of taking advantage of it.

"Do you think you could sit with Billy for a couple of hours while I go talk to Jake?"

Shit.

"Rosalie can't do it?" I hedged. If she was finally going to go talk to her husband and get this whole mess straightened out I certainly wasn't going to say no, but her timing definitely could have been better. I'd been up for over 36 hours, and I was dragging. If I had to stay up with Billy…

"She, Alice and Jasper are out hunting. I've already put him to bed, all you have to do is be there if he wakes up. Which he shouldn't. So you should be able to just pass out." She stopped, took a deep breath. "He knows, Jaz."

It took a second for my befuddled brain to figure out what she was talking about.

"Wait, he knows you're taking off?"

"Yeah. I guess he found the tickets."

Okay wait. Something wasn't adding up. I hadn't been kidding about that aneurysm. There was no way I could see Jake just letting Bella and Billy leave.

"So what did he say?"

"He didn't. Quil did."

Ah. That would explain why Jacob hadn't shown up on the Cullens' doorstep. Quil's name ripped hard and fast at the hazy shield I'd slapped up to make this afternoon's revelations a little easier, and I deliberately pushed him out of my mind and focused on Bella. The less I thought about Quil, the happier we were all going to be.

"Apparently he showed up sloshed at Quil's last night. I promised him I'd go by and talk to Jake tonight, get things straightened out."

She sounded awfully calm for someone who had been in tears over this the last time I talked to her about it. In fact, everything about her screamed that she wasn't nearly as freaked out as she'd been when I'd seen her the night before.

"You look…different. Less stressed about this whole thing. Have you figured out what you're going to do?"

She shrugged.

"Not yet, but honestly…I feel better. I think Max was right when she said I needed to get away and get a little perspective. Of course, that wasn't exactly how she put it. I think her exact words were 'get some sleep and stop being such a damned drama queen', but I knew what she meant. I got up this morning, and it was like…like my head was clear for the first time in a long time, you know?"

Ignoring my exhaustion, I reached out and squeezed her tight.

"I'm glad. Jake's a great guy. I'd hate to see the two of you fall apart. Who else am I going to get to fix that hunk of junk I've been cruising around in for the last three years?"

Bella giggled, then slipped me a sly look out of the corner of her eye.

"Something tells me you could talk Quil into it with the proper…incentive."

Wait for it, wait for it…yep, there it was. Ouch.

"Yeah, well, you know Quil. Any excuse to play with his tools."

I tried to smile, but Bella saw right through me.

"Everything okay with you guys?"

The fact that she even assumed there was a 'you guys' to talk about made tears prickle at the back of my throat. This was stupid. I was acting like he'd dumped me, but you had to have a relationship to get dumped. We were friends, and it wasn't like the fact that he'd imprinted was going to change that.

Who was I trying to kid?

"Quil imprinted."

Sympathy immediately slipped into her eyes, and she pulled me into a warm hug.

"God, Jaz, I'm sorry. That sucks."

I patted her lightly on the back, working up another quick smile.

"Yeah, well, not like I didn't know it was coming. It's no big deal."

Pulling back, Bella looked at me with knowing eyes. I suspected she knew exactly how I felt about Quil, which meant I wasn't fooling anybody. Since the last thing I wanted to do tonight was get into an in-depth discussion of my own personal insanity, however, I quickly cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Go ahead and go, I'll keep an ear out for Billy. Which room are you guys staying in?"

"We're downstairs in the right wing, the room with the funky little turtle mirror? Max wanted to camp out where she'd be close by. I've got the intercom in his room turned on if you still have stuff to do." She pulled me in for another quick hug. "Thanks sweetie, I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Just go talk to that husband of yours before he decides to come up here and start pulling the house apart."

Bella grinned, taking off out the front door. I thought about kicking on the intercom system Esme had installed so they could hear the kids while they were napping and sitting down to catch up on the never-ending piles of paperwork that went hand in hand with private practice, then decided I was just too beat. I grabbed a book out of my office and headed down the right wing.

It wasn't often I went any farther than the clinic or the main kitchen/family room in the Cullen house, but I was always just a little bit in awe when I did. The house had to have 50 different rooms in it, from bedrooms to playrooms to libraries to Edward's music room to…I couldn't even remember them all off the top of my head. Carlisle and Esme had wanted it to be big to accommodate their "children", and with the clinic downstairs it made sense to keep plenty of extra bedrooms in case we had an overflow of patients or Esme had children spending the night.

The lights were out and the door shut on the room closest to the clinic, so I assumed that was the one Max had crashed out in. I was very, very glad we'd had a chance to go out last night, because I'd barely had a chance to see her today, and after losing Lara I knew neither one of us was going to have much time to just hang out until we managed to figure out what had killed her. The soft sound of baby snores drifted out from the next room over.

Billy had learned how to climb out of his crib well before his first birthday, so Bella didn't even try anymore. The little boy was curled up on a cot on the floor, his face pressed into the pillows and his bottom in the air. He really was a cute little thing. With Jake's soft curls and dark eyes, you could tell he was going to be a lady killer one day. I tucked the blanket up around him, made sure the light in the adjoining bathroom was on just in case he had to get up in the night, then kicked on the bedside lamp, flopped onto the bed and slipped into the mind of Steig Larsson.

Five minutes later, I was fast asleep.

The next time I opened my eyes the room was pitch black, the soft sound of Billy's snoring had disappeared and a hot pair of arms were wrapped around me, laying me down on the bed.

"It's okay Jaz," murmured Jacob, gently tucking the blankets up around my chin. "We're back, and I thought you'd be more comfortable if we weren't squashed three to a bed. Go back to sleep."

"Thanks Jake."

My sleep slurred voice was barely recognizable, even to me, when I rolled over and furrowed back into the pillows, and I was out before he even made it out the door.

That night the dreams began. I was standing in the middle of a field, squinting against the sunlight, and there were women dancing through the trees. There must have been hundreds of them moving in eerie synchrony, chanting with a single voice like a strange female version of the Borg. Then a tall, cool blonde in a red Grecian dress stepped forward, a golden leash snapped to a collar that hung around the neck of a giant black wolf. Suddenly each of the women was leading a wolf, who was following her docilely to a burning pyre that had appeared next to where I was standing. A lump rose in my throat when I recognized each member of the pack.

One of them looked over at me and grinned, flames burning in her eyes, a tiny wolf cub dancing around her heels. She scooped the cub up and sunk her teeth into his neck before tossing him into the fire.

I woke with the sound of my screams echoing in my ears.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: First and foremost, thank you so much for still being here! I know stories that heavily feature OC characters aren't always incredibly popular on fanfiction sites like this one, but it sounds like y'all are having a good time keeping up with Jaz and Quil and that makes me happy. You guys are great, and I love you all!**

**When I first started writing this story I had every intention of sticking exclusively to Jaz and Quil's POV, to see the story through their eyes, but I rewrote this scene 8 ways from Sunday before finally acquiescing to the inevitable. So I hope you'll forgive me my break from my usual format and enjoy **_**finally**_** getting to see what's going on inside Jake's head!**

**Also, I would like to fervently apologize for the bastardization of the written Quileute language below. There are simply some written characters that don't transpose into Microsoft Word, even with the creative use of copy/paste, which means there are characters/accents missing from this written copy. I did the best I could and hope you'll forgive me the rest. **

**Jacob**

If Embry didn't stop whistling, I was going to kill him. I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Him. And I was going to enjoy it. You'd think after Sam had to pull me off of him this morning he'd have a better developed sense of self preservation than to incessantly whistle the theme from "The Twilight Zone" while he helped me replace the engine of the broken down Ford we were trying to will back to life.

"No good deed goes unpunished," I muttered, yanking at the rusty bolt that was holding the engine in place. (One of the first things I'd learned about being a mechanic with superhuman strength is that you have to be very, very careful when you're trying to push around a hunk of metal. Nine times out of ten it was happy to let you win. Then you were left with a bunch of broken pieces that weren't good for anything.)

"What was that?"

I glared ferociously.

"I was thinking that I should have made Sam stick around. At least then it would have been quiet."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining."

Embry grinned, snapping his gum (Gum? Really? Could you _be_ any more juvenile?), and I ground my teeth. I was regretting promising Sam I wouldn't make him bleed today, because I had plenty of frustration built up and he was really, really pissing me off. I still hadn't gotten a straight answer out of him about where he'd taken off to the night before, and the sight of Andy's tear-streaked face was burned on the back of my eyeballs. One hit. Just one good hit. That was all I needed.

The day ended at midnight. Maybe if I just hung around in the woods for a little while…

"That's it."

The jackass pushed himself out from the truck's undercarriage and stood up, wiping the grease off his hands. While I'd been plotting ways to quietly smother him in his sleep we'd actually finished putting in the rebuilt engine. The truck's owner would be pleased. It wasn't pretty, and it sure as hell wasn't quiet, but it would run

Just like the piece of crap pickup I'd put back together for Bella when she first moved to Forks.

The reminder of my wife, and the empty house I was going home to, had me slamming the hood of the truck a little harder than I needed to. I'd like to say I was thinking about ways to drag Bella back, or what card I was going to pull out of my bag of tricks to make her stay, but the truth was I hadn't been able to move past the blinding wall of rage and fear beating at the back of my head. When I thought about Bella all I could do was _feel_, and I was afraid that when she finally did get around to telling me she was leaving I was going to be so buried under those feelings that I wasn't going to be able to think clearly enough to keep her. I was going to end up begging (again), then watching her apologize to my face and walk away to fly to another freaking continent chasing after that stupid leech (again).

Since the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, it was a crappy plan. I was giving her a wide berth till I could come up with a better one instead of giving in and doing what every instinct I had was screaming at me to do, which was go over to the Cullens' and drag her kicking and screaming back home. God, I thought we were done with this crap when she said goodbye to the leech in the first place.

I hadn't thought about Cullen in years, not really. I knew he and Bella had stayed in touch. It hadn't bothered me. She was _my_ wife, wasn't she? Hell, she was still breathing, which was all the proof I needed that I had won. I could afford to be the bigger man now. I was the one who got to have Bella in my arms every night, I was the one that had gotten to see Bella glowing, her body round and gently curved with my child, I was the one that had built a home and a life with her. That had to be tearing him up, and I had to admit there was a certain amount of perverse satisfaction in that. Even though it had been years I hadn't forgotten a single second of the impotent rage I'd felt day in and day out knowing Bella was with _him_ instead of me, knowing that each tick of the clock marked off another breath until she took her last one, each tick bringing me just a little closer to the day I would finally lose my mind.

It always came back to Bella. It always would, for me. Finding those tickets, knowing they meant she'd decided it wasn't enough after all, had been a sucker punch to the gut…and I was the sucker. Every phone call, every dinner with Carlisle and Esme, every time I'd come home to find her and Edward talking quietly at our kitchen table when he was in town, suddenly took on a whole new meaning. I didn't like it.

A quick slap on the arm brought me out of my daze.

"Hey man, I'm heading out. See you tomorrow."

I glowered at Embry, glad to have something tangible to actually let some of this fury off at.

"Are you going home, or are you going to be an asshole and leave your wife sitting up all night again?"

"Are you going home, or are you going to camp out on my couch because you don't have the balls to go chasing after your own wife before she leaves you for the leech again?"

Embry walked out of the garage, leaving me standing in the middle of the warehouse-sized workspace shaking with the need to rip him apart. If I didn't get a grip on myself soon someone was going to get hurt. Since I really didn't want that someone to be Andy, who had enough problems on her hands without having to deal with a homicidal wolf, and I _definitely _didn't want to go back to the home I'd built with Bella, I shut down the lights, locked the doors and trudged up to the office overlooking the bay. There was always something else that needed to be done. If I was lucky I'd manage to work myself into an exhausted stupor, then curl up on the couch and pass out for a couple of hours.

As long as I kept my hands busy I didn't have to think about Bella, or what it was going to feel like leaving work for the first time in years knowing the woman I loved wasn't going to be there when I got home.

The last thing I expected was to see Bella sound asleep on that same couch when I opened the door. The breath whooshed out of my lungs, and all I could do was stand there and drink her in. It felt like it had been weeks rather than days since I'd last seen her, and really, maybe it had. I couldn't remember the last time we'd sat down and talked, really talked, about anything that didn't have anything to do with Billy or the house. Every time I turned around it seemed like someone was pulling me in another direction, the business and the pack eating up the hours of my day without leaving any left over to just bask in the wonder I still felt at having Bella in my arms after all these years.

I closed the door and slid down onto the floor next to her without bothering to turn on the light, enjoying the cocoon that the darkness made around us. In the dark I could imagine that Bella and I were in our own little world, a world where the monsters weren't real and I could pretend that she loved me enough to want to stay. When she woke up she was going to want to talk, and I wasn't sure I was up for that yet. So I laid my head down on the edge of the sofa, just close enough to feel the warmth of her body and the soft puffs of air that slipped out from between her lips every time she breathed, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Jake? Jake? Damn it, Jacob."

The soft affection in that voice, and the warm lips that lightly slid over mine, tugged me out of my sleep. Slipping my hand around Bella's head I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss the way I'd done hundreds of times, her warm breath dancing over my face as I drank in her scent and felt the sharp edge of desire unfurl in my abdomen. I clung to the sweetness of the dream, not knowing why but knowing I didn't want to wake up. When my eyes slid open her face filled my vision, her eyes drowning with the love we'd made over the years.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Mmmmm, morning."

Then where we were slowly sunk in, and I realized it wasn't a dream after all. This was my office, not our bedroom, it was still pitch black outside, and instead of being curled around Bella I was sitting on the floor with my head against the couch. Reality crashed over me like a wave of cold water and I buried my face in her neck, terrified I would need the memory of this moment to fill thousands of empty ones in my future.

"Nayeli," I murmured, unconsciously slipping into the language she loved to hear when I made love to her. "Que quowle. Washitli tiktowa."

"I love you too." She ran her fingers along my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "I don't want to go."

"Then don't."

Suddenly, everything I needed to say to her became incredibly simple.

"Stay with me, Bella. Don't leave. Whatever this is, we can work it out."

She sighed, gently scooting her body out from underneath me to sit against the arm of the couch, her legs folded underneath her. The sense of well-being I had felt only moments before disappeared, leaving me cold all the way down to my toes.

"It's not that simple, Jacob."

"Why? I love you. You love me. There's nothing complicated about that."

Her eyes were sad when they looked into mine and I found myself shifting, rolling to my knees to grab her hands and bring them to my lips.

"I'm not happy, Jake. I haven't been for a long time."

There are moments in my life I'll remember in freeze frame until the day that I die. The woman I loved sitting in front of me with tears in her eyes when she told me I didn't make her happy was going to be burned onto my brain for the rest of my life. A deep, melancholy howl that didn't belong on my human lips rose in my throat as my wolf mourned our failure. Carefully, I lowered her hands back to her lap, keeping my eyes firmly on her tapered nails to keep her from seeing the agony I knew had to be on my face.

Her hair fell in a soft curtain against my cheek as she leaned down, resting her forehead against the top of my head.

"It's not you, Jake. It's never been you. Falling in love with you is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me."

"It's not you, it's me, right?"

The words, and the desolation behind them, fell from my lips in a mournful echo of the ones she'd said to me so many years ago.

"It is me. It's all me. I don't deserve you."

"But you deserve Cullen, is that it?"

"I'm not going back to Edward, Jacob. He has nothing to do with this."

I laughed at that. Of course Cullen had something to do with this. Cullen always had something to do with it.

"If he has nothing to do with this, how do you explain the fact that you didn't bother to tell me he was flying you and _our son_ to Florence at the end of the summer? Were you going to tell me, or were you just going to disappear and send me a postcard and a cannoli?"

Her hands tugged gently on mine, pulling me up on the couch next to her so she could curl her head on my shoulder. My arm wrapped around her automatically, pulling her closer when I heard her first shaky sob. Crap. It didn't matter that she was leaving, or that she was ripping me apart piece by piece. She was hurting, and all I wanted to do was make it be okay, just like I'd been doing my entire life.

The difference was, this time I wasn't sure I was strong enough to let her go if that's what it took to make her happy.

"I was going to tell you. I really was. It was supposed to be a Christmas present for all of us. Then there was Sam, and the pack, and you had so much responsibility, and you were working all the time, and…"

She trailed off, looking up at me helplessly, as though she expected me to somehow understand what she was talking about. The look on my face must have convinced her I was completely clueless, because she sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just…I felt so trapped in La Push, Jake. You were working all the time, and if you weren't at work you were with the pack. Billy's great, but he's such a handful, and…I felt like I was losing pieces of myself every day. Then Edward told me about this group in Florence that was looking for American teachers. We'd get to spend a year in Italy, get away from all of this (she gestured with her arm) for a while. It would have been a change of pace for all of us."

"Us?"

"You, me and Billy."

It took a minute for the words to sink in, but relief washed through me as soon as I realized what she was saying. She wanted to take a job in Italy, and she wanted Billy and I to come with her. She wasn't going back to Edward, she just hadn't known how to tell me.

"Why didn't you say something?" I asked, gently stroking her hair. Sure, it would take a little bit of work, but it sounded like…well, it sounded like fun. Wasn't like the crew couldn't keep the shop going while I was gone. The amount of paperwork that had piled up on my desk was a definite sign that I needed to start delegating a little more anyway. And as small and petty as it made me feel, I knew that was a trip I'd gladly make if it meant not giving the leech a year to talk Bella out of my arms.

"I was going to, I really was, but then you told me about Sam."

My world came to a screeching halt. Damn it, I'd nearly forgotten about that. Sam was…well, "retiring" might not be the right word, but the wheels were already in motion for him to stop phasing and turn the pack over to me. At the beginning of September I would be the sole alpha of the Quileute pack, which meant I was tied to the reservation. Permanently. And as my wife, Bella would be too.

I'd never wanted to be pack alpha. It was something I'd come to terms with over the years, however, and the part of me that had been born to lead the pack was practically quivering in anticipation. Shame washed over me when I realized that I'd never for a moment thought about what that would mean for my lovely, intelligent and obviously ambitious wife. I could tell from the shine in her eyes that this opportunity was important to her, important enough that she was actually thinking of leaving me in order to go. By staying with me, she was going to be giving all that up.

"There's something else I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago." She hesitated, desperately searching my face for something before looking back down at her hands. "I'm pregnant."

The change of gears threw me, but once I caught on I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. Bella was pregnant? Again? Sheer joy burbled and gurgled in my stomach. There wasn't a single moment in my life that was more beautiful than the day the doctors put Billy in my arms, unless it was the day Bella said goodbye to the leech. Truth be told, it was a pretty close contest. I was hoping Billy wouldn't hate me for it later. Another baby would be…

Then the look on her face sunk in. She didn't look nearly as happy as I did. In fact, she didn't look happy at all. With a sinking heart I realized she didn't want this baby, and I felt like a selfish ass.

"God, Jacob, stop. Please, just stop. It's okay to be happy about this. Don't feel guilty about that."

What did you say to the woman in your life when she handed you everything? She wasn't leaving me. She was having my baby. But she wasn't happy about it.

"Bells…I'm sorry, I'm a little lost here." Giving in to the need, I reached out and stroked my hand down the side of her face. She turned her cheek into my hand, and my heart turned over. "I'm not sure what to say. What is it you want me to do? What will make you happy?"

Tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Hold me, Jacob, please? Just…hold me."

We weren't anywhere near done with this conversation. I wasn't stupid enough to think this was settled. She hadn't said she wasn't still planning to go, but she wasn't planning on going back to Edward either. And I really didn't have a clue what to do. The thought of sending her out of the country with Billy, knowing that my baby was growing and thriving inside her and Cullen was going to be there for her instead of me, was enough to make me want to kill something. I wasn't stupid enough to forbid her from going, but I couldn't tell her to go ahead and go either.

On the other hand, what right did I have to steal away her dreams? That didn't seem like love, and it seemed like the vows we'd made to love and support each other should go both ways.

I may not have had a clue what to do about our future, but right then I desperately needed to have my wife in my arms. Pulling her into my lap, I wrapped those arms around her and held her close while her shoulders shook and she sobbed the stress and tension of the last few months into my shoulder. Bella was here, she loved me, and she was still mine. There were no more secrets between us. We could figure the rest out later.


	12. Chapter 12

**Quil**

Do you have any idea how long 8 hours on patrol can be when you're patrolling with Paul? Imagine you've stepped into an alternate reality where strange gnomes come by at random times of the day and pluck your toenails out. Vampire gnomes. With giant teeth. That shave your feet, then cane them with bamboo. That would _still_ be my idea of a happy birthday celebration if I had to choose between that and putting up with Paul for 8 straight. By the time I got home I was tired, I was hungry, and if I had to hear one more crack about Seth's mom and Bella's dad I was going to chomp down on his spleen.

Mmmm, meat…

My entrance into the living room was punctuated by the sound of glass smashing into the wall about an inch from my head.

"Stupid selfish goddamn son of a…"

"Woah!"

The heavy wooden statue Jake had made for Andy forever ago left a huge hole in the drywall before it fell to the floor with a 'thud'. Eyes wide with disbelief, I stared at the very, very unhappy blond in my kitchen.

"Hey Quil." She sniffed. "Sorry about that. I thought you were Embry."

"Yeah, I got that." Stepping carefully, I waded through the wreckage in my living room. The game of squash with every large, heavy and fragile object in the house must have started while I was gone, because there wasn't an inch of the floor that wasn't littered with debris.

"What the hell did he do this time?"

"Stupid son of a bitch came home just long enough to pack a bag and leave again." She threw her arms up in the air. "I swear to god, Quil, I don't know what the hell his problem is, but if he doesn't get it together I'm going to start asking Emmett for favors. I'm so _done_ with this stupid…stupid…bullshit!"

Ever seen a fairy curse? The profanity that followed that statement would have made a Portuguese sailor blush with shame, but it looked so out of place dripping from those pretty lips that I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. I knew I was gonna regret it before it even left my mouth, but I did it anyway. I laughed.

And just barely ducked the Crockpot that came whizzing past my head.

"I'm glad you think it's funny. You stupid men, you're all alike. You're all scum. You're just…just…scum!"

With that she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, taking my chances of getting a decent meal with her.

"Hey! I resemble that remark…but I resent being lumped in with scum like him!"

Nothing like the slamming of a wooden door to make your point. Apparently, she wasn't amused. Ah well. Leftovers it was.

It crossed my mind that I should probably track down her husband and pummel him for taking off again, but after eyeballing the wreckage she'd left behind I didn't feel the overwhelming need to do anything about it. Hell, even Sam gave her a wide berth when she was this pissed. Broken Andy was...worrisome. Pissed off Andy could handle Embry just fine.

A giant plate of leftover meatloaf and a pile of cold potatoes late, the indigestion left over from a night with Paul was just a distant memory. My pillow and I had just reconnected when I heard the soft, rhythmic chirping of the cell phone I'd kicked into cricket mode just to piss off Jaz (who hated the damn things). The name that popped up on the display had me scrambling.

"Hello?"

"Hi. I didn't wake you, did I?"

The thickly accented voice drifting through the phone lines sent a curl of warmth crawling through my stomach.

"No, I was up." I grinned, flopping back on the pillows. Maria had been dancing in and out of my thoughts all day, providing ample entertainment through the tedious job of changing the oil in about 100 cars whose owners couldn't care less about rusting out the inside of their engines beyond how much it was going to cost them to fix, and giving me plenty of ammunition when Paul started running off at the mouth. "What's going on?"

There was silence, then: "How do you feel about carnivals?"

Carnivals?

"Hmmmm…" I pretended to think about it for a minute. "Fairly warm and fuzzy, all things considered. Especially if there's food involved."

A light, airy giggle floated through the earpiece, curling around my brain and turning me to mush. I'd forgotten how imprinting turned you into a total sap.

"It's not a real carnival until you've stuffed your face full of fried dough and thrown up on the tilt-a-whirl," she affirmed. "There's one opening at the Clallam County Fairground tomorrow night. I know we said we'd wait until this weekend to see each other, but I thought…well, perhaps Friday was close enough?"

Now, normally I'm not the kind of guy who digs on carnivals. The clowns at these things always freak me out, and the last time I'd gone I'd almost decked the guy on the corner that wanted to guess my weight for making some smart remark about Andy's ass. But right then I couldn't think of anything that sounded better than spending the night riding the ferris wheel with Maria wrapped in my arms.

Like I said, imprinting turned you into a total sap. Think she was afraid of heights?

"Quil? If you don't want to go…"

My mind had gotten so wrapped up in its little fantasy of making out with Maria underneath the stars that I had completely spaced out.

"No! No, I totally want to go. Can't say no to fried dough."

I winced as soon as it came out of my mouth (because really, how cheesy could you get?) but she just giggled again.

"Meet me at 6 by the Strong Man?"

It was impossible to miss the innuendo in that voice, dancing over my skin to tickle nerve endings I'd almost forgotten in the simple pleasure of hearing her speak. All right, not really. I was a guy, after all, and a day apart hadn't done a thing to make me forget she was drop-dead gorgeous. What did you expect? Forces of nature and all that. I had to firmly grab my rampaging hormones in check and remind myself that while my wolf may have decided this was going to be my one and only (and therefore fair game), I'd only met her at breakfast. Way too soon to think about doing anything other than holding her hand and sharing an ice cream.

"You're on."

Clicking off the phone I snuggled down into the pillow and fell asleep, dark eyes dancing through dreams of roller coasters, cotton candy and a woman in white standing in my arms while we both went up in flames. Oh yeah. Tomorrow was going to be one helluva night.

As luck would have it, tomorrow ran about 2 hours later than it was supposed to thanks to an idiot that decided to light up in the storage room at the shop, almost bringing the whole building down around our ears. He was lucky Jake had a quick hand with the fire extinguisher. I cringed when I finally scrounged up a parking spot and found Maria pacing out front.

"Quil! I was starting to think you weren't going to make it!"

A second later my arms were full of laughing, sweet smelling woman, making me grin as she jumped up to wrap her legs around my hips and plant a kiss on my cheek.

"Yeah, some moron tried to blow the place up today. Had to stick around and help Jake clean up."

Leaning back, I searched her face anxiously for some sign that she was pissed I'd managed to keep her waiting almost 2 ½ hours past the time we were supposed to meet, but if she was she didn't show it. She was beaming up at me, her lacy white tank and stonewashed cutoffs showing off each and every one of the curves she'd hidden in her baggy t-shirt and jeans the first time we met, her hair tumbling down to dance around my fingers where they wrapped around her back to keep her from falling over. For a moment the contrast of her dark skin against the light fabric was an eerie reminder of the dream I'd had the night before. Then she lifted her lips to mine and proved that the dream couldn't come anywhere close to the real thing.

By the time the two of us were tucked in a car at the top of the ferris wheel, my arm thrown across her shoulders to ward off the night chill, powdered sugar dusting our chins from the liberal consumption of the promised funnel cakes while we watched the lights of the fair slowly dying below us, I was fairly certain this had turned out to be the best night of my life. We'd spent hours running from ride to ride, laughing like children while we held hands and gave ourselves up to the carefree ambiance that filled the air. (Her words, not mine. Who the hell actually used "ambiance" in a sentence anyway?) She'd shown me how to land the stupid softball in the impossible baskets, and I'd won her an atrocious pink elephant in some stupid balloon game. He'd promptly been christened Harvey, happily sitting on the far edge of the seat as we clung to each other in fervent denial of the fact that sooner or later, all good things come to an end.

Embry's words the day before came rushing back. Should I invite her to Leah's wedding? Would she even want to go? Or would she think I was one of those creepy dudes that latched onto a girl the minute they met her and obsessed about her until she either killed herself or filed a restraining order?

Right then, with her soft hair tickling the end of my nose and the gentle beat of her heart fluttering against my skin, it seemed like the right time to push my luck.

"Ah…so listen. I have to go to a wedding next week for the sister of a friend of mine. She used to belong to our pa…ah, tribe. We're leaving Friday and staying in SoCal for the weekend. I don't suppose you want to come with me, do you?"

She was quiet for a minute after that, but I got the feeling it wasn't the kind of silence that meant I'd really creeped her out. It was the kind of silence that told me she was giving the question the consideration it deserved, since we hadn't known each other 48 hours and I was basically offering to drop her into the middle of all of my family and friends for an entire weekend. And I hadn't even warned her about Leah yet.

"I suppose your parents and your friends will be there?"

Yep, just like I'd figured. She was a little freaked about me trying to bring her home to mom.

"Yeah, it's kind of a thing. Most of the reservation's going…well, except for the bride's ex-boyfriend, but that's a whole different story."

Her head lifted up, tipping back so she could brush her lips along my chin and send shivers tingling down my spine. Without thinking I dipped down, catching her mouth to deepen the kiss into a warm, slow mating of lips and tongue that had her reaching up to loop her arm around my neck.

"I would very much like to spend the weekend with you, Quil, but I don't know if I'm ready for the whole wedding thing. I think I would feel too much like an intruder. It just feels so…uncouth."

Uncouth? I chuckled, making her eyebrows crinkle with confusion.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, it's just…uncouth? Really?"

"Is that not the right word?"

"No, it is, if you learned English from a Bronte novel." I stopped laughing at the hurt look on her face. Shit. She'd said her family had immigrated from Brazil, and despite her near-perfect English it obviously wasn't her first tongue. Maybe I wasn't as far off about the Bronte novel thing as I'd first thought. Way to go, dumbass.

"I'm sorry. No, I am," I insisted as she turned away from me, hiding her face in a curtain of hair. "I'm just not used to people who actually know what uncouth means outside of high school English. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"It's okay." Maria worked up a smile that didn't quite touch the hot edge of anger and embarrassment she couldn't quite hide. Remorseful, I bent down and pressed a quick kiss on the edge of her nose, relieved to see the affection back on her face.

"Just for that, I'll let you skate on the wedding thing. Besides, you're not missing much. Leah's kind of a bitch."

'In more ways than one' my mind added, and I flinched. It hadn't really occurred to me how hard it had to be for the guys to tell their imprints they turned into a giant, hairy monster and went chasing after the mythical undead on a fairly regular basis. Claire, being 2, had thought having her own personal puppy was the coolest thing ever. It was still early days yet, but I didn't have a clue how I was going to break it to Maria.

The memory of Bella's trial by fire made me cringe. I definitely didn't want to see that happen again.

"Then perhaps it really is a good thing I'm not going. I've been told I can be a bit of a bruja myself."

I wanted to laugh at the thought of the sweet, shy woman who had blushed six shades of red when I'd licked ice cream off the end of her chin taking on Leah, but the memory of the heat in her eyes earlier made me hesitate. I couldn't help the feeling that there was more to Maria than I'd seen so far, and as she cuddled back up against my shoulder to begin the long ride back down to the ground I couldn't help but think she just might be okay in my world after all.


	13. Chapter 13

**Jaz**

You would think a week without any new attacks would have been a blessing after Lara and Sam Jr., but I couldn't help feeling like I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Carlisle thought it had been a wandering rogue that had moved on. It made sense, but it didn't stop the muscles from tightening in my stomach every time the bell jingled over the waiting room door. It had been the longest week of my life.

Staring blindly out Jake and Bella's backseat window while the California landscape went rolling by, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that had to do with the fact that I hadn't seen or talked to Quil since _that day_. It's not like we were exactly inseparable before he imprinted, between his work schedule and mine, and I knew he was still running Jared's patrols. There was always the chance that he had a perfectly good excuse for not picking up the phone and at least giving me a call. That didn't stop a small part of me from bitterly blaming _her_ for the fact that not only had I lost the tiny crumbs of a relationship we'd had, I'd also lost my friend in the process. It was an even toss up for which one sucked more.

Billy leaned over out of his car seat, planting a smacking kiss on my shoulder and grinning up at me with a mouth full of baby teeth. At least someone still loved me.

"So, Jaz, you looking forward to going back home again?" Bella turned around to smile at me, passing Billy a pack of crackers he snatched out of her hands with a happy squeal.

Hmmm. There was a trick question if I ever heard one.

"It'll be nice to see everyone again," I said diplomatically.

It was the truth, as far as it went. I hadn't made it back to the Mojave reservation for more than a day or two at a time since I'd started med school. The scholarships I'd won, and the others I'd worked my ass off for, had paid a good chunk of my tuition, but they didn't pay everything and a girl had to eat. So I'd spent my nights, weekends and holidays running errands, scrubbing bedpans and processing paperwork in the ER in between studying and classes. It hadn't left me with a whole lot of time on my hands to go back home.

The memory of warm hands, soft lips and laughing eyes looking down into mine under a blanket of stars reminded me that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Bella and Billy were both sound asleep by the time we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel where Leah and her fiancé Peter were getting married. I'd been shocked when Sue and Charlie had stopped by the clinic a couple of days before to tell us they'd decided not to get married on the reservation after all. Something about the guest list being extensive, and Leah not wanting to step on anyone's toes. Since Leah usually didn't give a shit about whose toes she stepped on, as long as she got her way, I'd been more than a little suspicious…but hey, it was her wedding, and the last time I'd talked to her she'd been going a little crazy. More so than usual, that is. If she'd pulled a Bridezilla and decided to move the wedding at the last possible minute, I wasn't saying a word.

Jake and Bella had offered to let me bunk with them to save on the cost of a room, but I'd nixed that idea as quickly as I could without being rude. The two of them were getting along a lot better now that Bella'd finally spilled the beans. A little _too_ much better, if you get my drift. I was happy for them, I really was, but I didn't know if my bruised and battered heart would be able to stand sharing a room with that much marital bliss. So I'd made an excuse about wanting a place to run and hide if Leah got too wild and gotten my own room.

I didn't expect to bump into Quil when we stepped out of the elevators on the third floor.

"Jaz!" He grinned, wrapping me and the sleeping baby in my arms up in a warm hug. "You're still alive! I was starting to wonder."

"I could say the same thing about you," I said, unable to stop the smile that spread across my face. "I haven't seen you all week."

"Sam's a slave driver. He's got me on patrol with Paul."

"Ugh."

With a shudder of sympathy I stepped out of the way so he could slap Jake on the shoulder and peer laughingly at the sleeping Bella.

"Knocking 'em unconscious huh? How's that working out for you?"

Jacob rolled his eyes, hoisting his wife up a little higher.

"Dumbass. Where are you staying?"

Quil tipped his chin.

"Next floor down. Couldn't stand the thought of bunking with Embry and Andy, but they're right down the hall from you guys."

"Embry's actually here?"

"Yeah, Leah threatened to string him up by his…ah, hmmm." He coughed, looking over at me. "Let's just say he decided coming was in his best interest after all. But Andy's still giving him the cold shoulder, and the temperature in that room's enough to give you frostbite."

Jake was quiet after we'd said goodbye to Quil and headed down the hall. I could have asked, but I had a feeling he was coming up with a list of appropriately creative ways to torment Embry when we got back home. Since the inside of his brain could be a dark place sometimes, I figured plausible deniability was the way to go. So I tucked Billy into the extra bed in the room, smiled at a mumbling Bella, told Jake goodnight and headed across the hall to get some sleep. Something told me tomorrow was going to be a very, very long day.

The pounding started at 6 o'clock the next morning. Since it had been after 2 when we'd rolled in, I didn't have nearly enough energy to deal with whoever was waiting on the other side of that door. I thought about just ignoring them and hoping they'd go away, but years on call at all hours of the night had me rolling out of bed and finger combing my hair as I padded on bare feet to turn the handle.

I definitely wasn't expecting to see Max, Alice, Rosalie and Leah standing, fully dressed, on the other side.

"Jaz!" Alice squealed, throwing her arms around me.

"Nice get-up," commented Leah, pushing past me to step into the darkened room. Rosalie just grinned, leaning against the side of the door.

"Not that blue's not a great color on you, but you might want to think about accessorizing a little bit."

I glanced down and flushed. I'd been too exhausted by the time I finally got to bed the night before to do anything other than tug off my jeans and collapse. Shit. Pants. I needed pants.

"I wasn't exactly planning on company at the ass crack of dawn," I said dryly, ducking back behind the door so I wouldn't flash anyone else. Fortunately, no one else was up yet. "There's this thing called sleep that we normal humans do when it's still dark outside."

"Hey, I'm up!"

"_Normal _humans, Leah. I said normal humans. Not cleverly disguised hairy psychopaths."

"Ohhhh, are we a little cranky this morning?" She grinned cheerfully while I pulled on the pants I'd worn the night before. "I guess that means you don't want your surprise?"

Oh boy. This couldn't possibly be good. The last time Leah "surprised" someone, they'd wound up in the hospital for a week. I was pretty sure she wouldn't hurt me, but I scooted a little closer to Alice and Rosalie just in case.

"What surprise?"

"We heard about Quil."

Max's voice was matter-of-fact, but the underlying sympathy in it was enough to make tears sting the backs of my eyes. She immediately wrapped her arms around me.

"Still can't understand what you saw in the stupid mutt in the first place, but I know what it's like to have someone break your heart." Rosalie's voice was oddly gentle. "We figured you could use a little company…and a little payback."

"Payback?"

Alice's face lit up.

"We figured you, being you, planned to spend the morning helping Sue and Charlie set up downstairs, then help Bella and Jake get Billy ready for the ceremony before you spent about 10 minutes slipping into something pretty yet eminently sensible. We decided your plan sucked, so we're here to shanghai you."

Leah laughed at the dumbfounded look on my face.

"See, here's the plan. Sue and Esme already put Jasper, Emmett and Dr. Fang to work downstairs. When the time comes, Esme's going to help Bella with Billy. You're coming with us."

"Where am I going?"

All I saw were four wicked grins.

8 hours later, exhaustion was setting in. The girls had stuffed a cereal bar and some fruit in my hand and dragged me down to the local shopping mall to find something "less suitable" for me to wear. Rosalie and Alice had swept through like a whirlwind, arguing incessantly while I gaped at them and Max and Leah just laughed. Then it was off for shoes and jewelry, followed by a quick lunch and make-up and hair for the humans before we headed back to the hotel.

While Alice and Rosalie were consulting on whether or not Max should dye the tips of her hair purple to match her dress, I pulled Leah aside.

"Not that this hasn't been a blast, but why are you doing this? I mean, you have to have a million and one things to do today."

"Nope." She grinned cheekily. "I've been working my ass off all week, which means today I get to dump it off on everyone else." Her face sobered, and her eyes grew grave. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I know how crappy it feels to fall in love with someone and have them toss you over just because some stupid supernatural crap says you're not supposed to be together. It took me years to get my shit together after Sam imprinted on Emily and…" She shifted uncomfortably. "I guess I wish I'd had girlfriends around back then to take me shopping."

My heart broke for Leah, both for the pain she had felt back then and the unexpected kindness she'd shown me today, and I hugged her impulsively.

"Hey hey hey, watch the hair!"

I laughed, pulling back.

"Thank you. Really."

"No problem." She reached out and squeezed my hand, and once again I marveled at the difference between this Leah and the brokenhearted, bitter Leah I'd met at a bonfire in La Push. "Coming down here, meeting Peter…I know I sound like a drama queen, but it literally saved my life. If you want to get away for a while, my door's always open."

"Thank you. Really. I don't know if I'll take you up on it, but…thanks." We both grinned at the echo of her words when I'd offered her a fresh start. Glancing over, I saw that Max was just about done. Which reminded me…

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see them, but what made you decide to invite Max and the Cullens? I mean, the Cullens weren't exactly your favorite people when you left La Push, and I thought you barely knew Max."

Leah rubbed the back of her neck and looked over at Rosalie and Alice.

"I heard what you, Max and Dr. Fang did for Sam Jr.," she said finally. "Sam…he still matters to me. And Emily's my cousin. I invited them too. It seemed like it was time, you know?"

My heart melted when I realized what she was trying to say-and everything she didn't. She still loved Sam, in spite of everything, and because she loved Sam it hurt her to think of him losing his son. Inviting Max and the Cullens was her way of saying thank you for not making him go through that. And because she was finally moving on, she was trying to mend the bridges she'd burned.

Sitting in my room hours later, the nylons I would wear that night hanging limply from my hands, I thought about Leah's offer. Would I be able to stay in La Push, having to see Quil every day, to know that he was right there and I couldn't have him? Would I be happy being his friend, or would I eventually become as tired and bitter as Leah had been? Would it be better to cut my losses and come back to the only family I'd ever known?

Ah well. I wasn't going to figure it out tonight.

Seth, who was supposed to be helping the guests find their seats, let out a low whistle when I stepped out of the elevator in the lobby.

"Hot _damn_ Jaz, you are lookin' _good._" He grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "You sure you don't just want to skip this party and stay in tonight?"

Leave it to Seth to know just what to say to make me smile.

"Something tells me your sister would have us both for breakfast."

He sighed, offering his arm to walk me out into the garden they'd set up for the ceremony.

"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"That all men are dogs." He winked. "Some of us are just a little more obvious about it than others."

I knew everyone there, and the looks and whistles I got walking down the aisle on Seth's arm made my face turn bright red. All right, Rosalie had been right. I'd needed the confidence booster, and the leers I was getting shoveled it out in spades.

The best part was, I knew I looked terrific. Alice and Rosalie had worked miracles. The dress they'd finally badgered me into was gorgeous, green silk with a scoop necked, low-cut halter that showed just enough cleavage to have me tugging up on the fabric, a skirt that barely brushed my knees and practically no back, and the silver heels I'd argued about made my legs look about 8 miles long. The hair dresser had left my hair down so it swished around my waist when I walked, and the clever makeup hid every hint of freckles and made my oh-so-blah green eyes three sizes larger. Grinning, I sat down next to Jake and Bella.

"Wow." Bella eyed me in disbelief. "I know you didn't pick out that dress of your own free will."

"Nope. Max, Alice, Leah and Rosalie kidnapped me as soon as I rolled out of bed this morning."

"The Cullens are here?"

Jacob immediately turned around, scanning the crowd. Sure enough, in the shadowy corners of the porch overlooking the garden were the six Cullens. Carlisle smiled and waved. Alice gave me two thumbs-up. And Emmett started panting like a dog. I grinned when Rosalie turned around and smacked him.

"Yeah, Leah invited them for helping Sam and Emily out with Sam Jr. Max is here too."

"Max is right here." She plopped into the seat next to me, the sun glinting off the purple tips of her hair and dancing across the metallic threads of her purple sheath. "Tell me this isn't gorgeous."

Glancing around, I had to agree. Leah had tossed the traditional white flowers and bows out the window, opting instead for simple, clean lines and tribal sculptures. It was a nice blending between the traditional tribal wedding Peter's parents had wanted them to have and the more modern one Leah had had her heart set on. My face lit up when I recognized the man standing at the head of the aisle.

"Papa!"

Nathaniel, my foster father, opened his arms as I flew into them.

"Welcome home, little wolf." He grinned, reaching down to tweak my nose the same way he had since I was six years old.

"It's good to see you. Where's mama?"

He waved his hand back toward the building.

"She's somewhere in there fussing over the food. You know how she is." Pausing, he eyed me speculatively. "Have you seen David yet?"

The name made a lump catch in my throat, and I quickly swallowed to chase it away.

"No, not yet. I'm sure I'll see him later."

"See that you do. He's been asking about you all week." He glanced over my shoulder, grinning at the older man walking slowly up the aisle. "Look who's come back."

"So I see."

Orrin, the tribal shaman and medicine man who had found me and brought me to Nathaniel when my parents had abandoned me, smiled warmly.

"It's good to see you again, Jazmine. I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back to us." He reached out to hug me with arthritic hands, and a twinge of guilt rushed through me.

"I always come back, you know that." A quick glance toward the back showed Sue waving frantically. Charlie walked over to us, Billy on his hip, a look of weary resignation written all over his face.

"I've been sent to tell you guys to, and I quote, stop running your mouths so they can get started and get this over with already."

He looked so put out that I couldn't help but laugh. Leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek, I plucked Billy out of his arms and beamed up at the men who had once made up my entire world.

"We'll talk later, yes?" Nathaniel lightly traced his finger along my cheek. "We've missed you."

"I'll make sure I come by tomorrow and see you and Eleanor before I leave," I promised. "You too, Orrin."

The older man raised his eyebrows and smiled at me knowingly.

"So you'll come by my house the way you used to, will you, little wolf? We shall see. We shall see."

With that he wobbled away, his hand on Nathaniel's arm to hold him steady. My heart broke to realize how heavily the years sat on his shoulders these days. He'd been a second father to me over the years, welcoming me into his home and his family with open arms and teaching me the way of the shaman when the spirits started to speak. I owed him everything. I really needed to get home more often.

The ceremony was simple and beautiful, the bride and groom smiling into each other's eyes as they exchanged their vows and their rings. I'd never seen Leah look so happy. Sneaking a peek out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam, sitting there with Abram in his lap and Sam Jr. by his side, looking at her just a little bit wistfully. Beside him, Emily's eyes were filled with tears. I wondered what they were thinking. Was Sam wishing things had turned out differently? Did a part of him still remember what it had felt like when Leah had been his, or had imprinting wiped all of that out? I'd seen dozens of couples broken up by imprinting over the years, but only now did I realize that while I knew all about what happened with their imprint, I knew nothing about the way they felt about the ones they'd left behind.

All too soon the ceremony was over. Jake and Bella had hustled to the bathroom, Billy in hand. (Potty training. So not something I was looking forward to if I ever had kids of my own.) I leaned back in my seat to let the crowd go by before heading inside, tipping my head back to drink in what was left of the sunshine. A shadow slipped between me and the warm glow of those last rays of light, and I opened my eyes to see Quil standing over me.

"Hey." I smiled lazily, still relaxed from the heat that had soaked into my bones.

"Are you crazy?"

His voice was sharp and sullen, and it had me sitting up with a frown on my face.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about running around half naked in a room full of animals. Don't you think that dress is a little…inappropriate for a wedding? Maybe you should go back upstairs and put something else on before these guys start getting ideas."

"Inappropriate?" I suppose I should have been pissed, but anger couldn't quite break through my shock. "What are you, the fashion police? Since when do you care about the way I dress?"

"Since you're walking around showing enough skin to put a porn star to shame. Or is that what you were going for?"

Okay, what the hell was going on? Since when did Quil start walking around acting like somebody's over-protective big brother? Glancing around, I saw Nathaniel slowly moving in my direction. Oh shit. Damned shapeshifter hearing. He-and everyone else at this stupid wedding-had probably heard every word Quil had just said. I shook my head at him and stood up, putting me exactly eye level with Quil's…chest. That broad, sexy, muscular chest. Damn it. Drooling over his pecs was _not_ going to help me make my point. I'd never hated being short so much in my life.

I tipped my head back so I could look up at his face.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is, Quil, but you need to get over it. Now. And don't bother talking to me again until you work out whatever crawled up your ass and died, because I don't want to hear it."

Not great as parting shots go, but I made my point. He stood there glaring after me while I stormed back into the hotel, walking right past a very amused Rosalie.

"I take it the dog didn't approve?" It was a rhetorical question; she'd heard every word he'd just said.

"I don't know what the hell's gotten into him," I snarled as we walked into the giant banquet room they'd set up for the reception. "Blathering on about how _inappropriate_ my dress was and telling me to go put something on. My god, I stop sleeping with the man and suddenly he's turned into my father!"

A familiar, snorting laugh came from over in the corner, and I looked over to see Max and Leah grinning at me.

"Seriously? That's hysterical." Max's eyes were bright with amusement. "Maybe he's just worried someone else will come by and take off with what he can't have."

"Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt." I grabbed a glass of champagne off of the table and Rosalie and I walked over to join them. "Imprinted, remember? He just wanted to give me a hard time."

"Yeah, well, if it makes you feel any better, there are plenty of guys here who'd be willing to give you a hard time if you let them." She waggled her eyebrows, leaving us all with no doubt what she was actually talking about. Her eyes flicked over my shoulder.

"Dr. C! You made it!"

Carlisle chuckled, coming over to stand next to us.

"I did indeed. It seemed inconsiderate not to, since they were willing to rearrange the wedding to accommodate us." We must have looked blank, because he smiled over at Leah. "We weren't welcome on tribal grounds because of certain…differences over the years. Leah and young Peter were kind enough to relocate so we would be able to attend. Thank you for that."

Leah shrugged. "No big deal. I'm glad you could make it."

Max frowned, looking around.

"Where's Esme?"

"I believe she headed back to the kitchen to swap recipes with the caterer. Something about a boeuf bourginon she'd had several years ago she wanted to try." He shrugged, looking so adorably clueless I had to smile. Just then the music kicked on a big band tune, and Max's face lit up with an evil grin.

"Hey Dr. C, you were around for the era of swing, right?"

He glanced over at her, arching his eyebrows.

"As it were, yes. Why do you ask?"

"That means you know how to do this. C'mon." She caught his hand and dragged him out onto the dance floor. The rest of us stared, slack jawed, as Carlisle spun her around, dropping her into a low dip before pulling her up and leading her through a series of complicated dance steps that had the crowd around them laughing and cheering in appreciation.

"He knows how to do that?"

Rosalie was staring, wide eyed, at Carlisle.

"Apparently. You didn't really think he'd spent 300+ years with his nose in a book, did you?"

"Well, yes."

She looked a little dazed, and I fought against the laugh that was dying to come boiling out. I supposed it made sense. She'd always seen Carlisle as a father figure. I could see where realizing he was a man who liked to dance, and did it well, would come as a surprise.

"So, Jaz, why not grab one of these tall, tattooed hotties running around here and give it a try?"

Leah leered at me, and I had to laugh.

"After those two? Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm about at my humiliation quota for the day."

I'd been joking, but as soon as I said it Quil's words flashed through my head, bringing another flare of righteous indignation.

"There are an awful lot of tattoos in this room," commented Rosalie, glancing idly around. "Is that some kind of tribal thing?"

"It's a coming of age thing," answered Leah. "Everyone, even the girls, gets a tattoo when they're finally accepted as an adult by the tribe."

Emmett, who had just walked in, glanced over at me, eyes wide. "Everyone? Then how come I've never seen Jazmine's? Lord knows we've seen her in that skimpy excuse for a bathing suit often enough. I think I would have noticed."

I flushed beet red, staring guiltily down at the ground, and his face split into a wide grin.

"Nuh uh. Seriously? Where?"

Nodding my head, I looked up at his dancing eyes and smirked.

"Let's just say it's somewhere you'll never see."

Leah cracked up.

"Oh, this is too good. Hey David!" she hollered over my shoulder. "Did you know Little Miss Goody Two Shoes over here has a tattoo somewhere she's not telling us about?"

The name made me freeze, the breath backing up in my lungs when a familiar pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around my waist and a chin rested on the top of my head the way it had a million times before.

"Who do you think put it there?"

The deep bass rumble of his voice carried me back to hot summer days and a pair of stupid 16 year old kids lying naked in the grass, swearing to love each other forever. David was Orrin's son, and he had been my first…everything. When I was little he'd been my first friend, showing me how to ride a bike and spending hours with me hunting for grasshoppers in the grass. He'd been the first boy to hold my hand, the first boy to ask me out on a date. At 14 he'd been the first boy to press his lips to mine, the first one to tell me he loved me, the first one to wrap his arms around me as we awkwardly turned in circles out on the dance floor.

The summer after my junior year of high school, beneath the old oak tree he'd carved our names into on the banks of the Oklahoma river, he'd become my first lover, teaching me the joys of what a man and a woman could do to each other so gently, so sweetly, that it had brought tears to my eyes.

We had our futures all planned out. Then, mid-way through my senior year, it had all come to a grinding halt when I stepped into a lecture hall at UCLA and stepped back out knowing I wanted more than the life I would have if I stayed on the reservation. My love of medicine had grabbed me just as surely as the magic had when I was a child. David hadn't approved, we'd argued, and I'd sent my application to Dartmouth the very next day. Those had been the last words we'd spoken to each other until now.

"Hello, David."

The words were so soft I could barely hear them myself, but he must have because he squeezed me tight.

"Hello, Jazmine. It's good to see you again." Stepping to the side and stroking his fingers up and down my back he murmured, "Welcome home."

The conversation ebbed and flowed around me after that, but I was too caught up in the feeling of David's calloused fingertips dancing along the edge of my spine to hear any of it until Leah glanced over my shoulder and muttered, "Oh shit."

Surprised, we all turned to see Sam striding through the crowd on the dance floor. The tall alpha cut a dashing figure in a suit, very James Bond, and I laughed at the number of people that went out of their way to get out of his.

"Keep that up and you're going to start a riot out there." Reaching up, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a warm hug. "You should come with a warning label."

Grinning, he wrapped his own arms around me and squeezed me tight.

"Thanks…I think." Eyes softening, he looked over at Leah. "Congratulations. You looked beautiful up there."

Flushing, she glanced down, muttering a quick, "Thanks."

He plucked the drink from her fingers and caught her hand.

"Do I get to dance with the bride?"

Silence fell over the group while he and Leah stared at each other, years of questions and heartache and the chance for a new start racing in between them. I think we were all holding our breath to see which way this was going to go. Was it too much, too soon? Then Leah smiled shyly and took a step forward and we all exhaled with a collective 'whoosh'.

"It's good to see her at peace," murmured David, wrapping his arm around my waist and stroking my hip with his thumb. "She was a wreck when she first got here." He nodded after the retreating couple. "Care to dance?"

I wasn't 100% certain this was a good idea. I'd seen Quil come in earlier, glowering at me while he talked to Jake and Peter, and my past and my present had collided so hard I was still quaking from the impact. Since I didn't really have a good excuse to say no, however, I let him slip his arms around me and pull me close.

"I've missed you, Jaz."

The look in his eyes was solemn.

"I've missed you too," I confessed. It was true. I had missed him, had thought about him often over the years, although I'd deliberately avoided him when I'd been home to avoid making an awkward situation any worse. Whatever else we'd been, we'd been friends. I'd missed his dry sense of humor and insatiable wit during many, many long nights sitting in my empty dorm.

He bent down, his lips brushing against the edge of my ear.

"All these years, and it's still you. It didn't matter how hard I tried to talk myself out of it, it's always been you. I know I don't have the right to ask, Jaz, but I'd like you to come home."

"David…"

"I was an idiot." David's face was full of perfect sincerity as it looked down into mine. "I know that now. I think I knew that then, I was just too stupid to admit it. Can you forgive me?"

I smiled up at him. He really was a good guy. But he'd already broken my heart once. Did I really want to dance this dance with him all over again? Looking over, I saw Quil striding out the side doors, and my heart ached. What did I have to lose?

"You don't have to ask. I think I forgave you a long time ago. It was just easier to tell myself I was mad at you than to come home and risk having you turn away again."

Reaching up, he lightly ran his fingers through the hair at my temple.

"You never could hold a grudge."

"If I held a grudge, I would have stopped talking to you the first time you dropped that stupid frog down the back of my dress."

Our eyes met, dancing with the hundreds of happy memories we'd made over the years. Something shifted, darkened as our gazes clung. His eyes flickered to my mouth and I held my breath, knowing what was coming. Lowering his head, he gently pressed his lips to mine, kissing me for the first time in over a decade.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: ***Lemon Alert***Since I never know how old the eyes that are going to be reading these stories will be, I usually do my best to keep my content rated PG-13 or better; however, this scene was screaming to be written from the moment this story started dancing through my head. So I'm going to toss out a warning before you continue. This scene is definitely rated NC-17 or better. If that's not your thing, or you're still innocent enough that the thought of rough sex in a hotel elevator makes you blush, feel free to skip this chapter! The next one will clear up anything you might have missed, I promise. **

**In the meantime, on with the show…**

**Quil**

If his hand got any closer to her ass, I was going to rip it off and feed it to him.

Lifting my beer to my lips, I eyeballed the slick suited octopus that had had his tentacles all over Jaz since I'd walked in the room. Watching him standing there with his arm wrapped around her tiny waist, fingers stroking the smooth skin left bare by that flimsy excuse for a dress, sent something black and hot boiling up the back of my throat. I took a long drag of the cold Milwaukee brew to wash it back down. She'd seemed happy to see him when he'd first walked over there, which meant she was probably going to take it personally if I started yanking off body parts.

But if he couldn't figure out where his hands belonged I was going to be happy to show him.

"Awesome party."

Seth slapped me on the shoulder, grinning over at his sister.

"Who would have guessed we'd finally get her married off? I figured I'd be stuck…oh shit, here comes trouble."

Flicking a glance in the general direction of Seth's stare I saw Sam cutting through the crowd to get to Leah. The knots in my stomach started to loosen when Jaz pulled away from the suit, putting a good foot and a half of space between them, and I couldn't help but smirk when he reached out like an idiot to catch her hand just as she was reaching for Sam. That sense of smug satisfaction vaporized when Sam pulled Leah out on the dance floor and _he_ squeezed her hip, leading her out right behind them.

My eyes narrowed when he looped his hands right over her tailbone and pulled her closer.

"Um, dude? If you didn't want the beer, all you had to do was say so."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" I griped, not taking my eyes off the jerk that had leaned down to whisper in her ear. Probably trying to get her back to his hotel room after the party. If he thought for a second he was going to treat Jaz like some two-bit floozy out for a one-night stand, he had another thing coming.

A handful of napkins flashed into my vision.

"Might want to clean that up. Blood's a bitch to get out of that fabric," suggested Seth wryly.

"What?...Shit."

Goddamned stupid cheap ass glass. There was a steady line of beer and blood dripping onto the floor from the crushed bottle in my hand. Tossing what was left into the bin on my left I snatched the napkins, crouching down to mop up the mess.

"What the hell is your problem? It's a wedding. You're supposed to be happy, remember?"

"I am happy. See?" I bared my teeth.

"Right. You just keep telling yourself that. While you're at it, maybe you should think about toning down some of that disapproving big brother vibe you're giving off over here." Seth followed my gaze out onto the dance floor. "David's a good guy, man. Leah says she really likes him. Give it a rest." He slapped me on the shoulder again before he stepped away. "I'm gonna go harass my new brother in law while Leah's not there to run interference. I'll catch up with you later."

A second later an obviously irritated caterer appeared with a mop.

"I'll get that, sir."

Three sweeps of the mop later she was gone, leaving me standing there next to a giant wet spot. A look at my already healed hands told me a trip to the bathroom was going to be a necessity if I didn't want to spend the rest of the night trying to convince Leah I hadn't killed anyone at her wedding. Hopefully by the time I got back the stupid song would be over, and the octopus-David-would have found something better to do than grope Jaz in front of a room full of shifters that would gladly kick his ass.

When I stepped back in a few minutes later I saw him lower his head, kissing her in front of God and country like his lips had any right to be there. You had to be freaking kidding me. Something hot and ugly exploded in my chest, and I stormed out onto the dance floor.

"Get your goddamned hands off of her," I snarled, grabbing her arm and yanking her behind me.

"Quil! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

We were both keeping our voices down, unconsciously trying not to cause a scene while I measured up my opponent. The slightly amused tilt of his lips was completely at odds with the longing in his eyes when he looked at Jaz, making something feral rise up with the desire to slam my fist down his throat.

"Quil, damn it, knock it off. Have you lost your mind?"

Jazmine was glaring at me, her hair curling around her flushed face and her breasts straining against the skimpy fabric with each outraged breath. An image of the two of them tangled up in the sheets, that dress nothing but a silky puddle on the floor, flashed through my mind, and the world went red. Enough was enough. If she couldn't figure out she had a problem, then I was going to have to do it for her. I scooped her up, carrying her off the dance floor, completely ignoring the protests of the jackass behind me and the murmur of voices starting to rise up out of the crowd. As long as they got the hell out of my way, I didn't care. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jake and Seth hauling ass toward us, eyes wide with shock. Then we were out of the reception hall and heading toward the alcove near the bank of elevators around the corner, Jaz spitting and cursing like a wildcat in my arms.

She turned on me the minute I set her down.

"What the hell were you…mmphf!"

'Mine.'

Her eyes widened in surprise when I pressed her against the wall, knotting my fingers in her hair and slamming my lips onto hers. Every inch of my body was screaming for her soft, warm flesh, hot licks of lust and desire and an almost animalistic need to claim the woman in my arms wiping my mind clean of anything but her. Sliding my hands down her back and grabbing her hips in one long sweep I yanked her against me, raining desperate kisses on her face and nibbling down her neck to swirl my tongue in the dip of her collarbone.

"Oh my god, Quil." She moaned, her head falling back to give my mouth access to that sweet, perfumed skin and her hips arching involuntarily against mine while her hands pushed me away. "What are you doing? What about Maria?"

"Maria who?" My ears were ringing, the smell of her perfume and her shampoo and the soft scent of wildflowers that was uniquely Jaz slowly unraveling the tension that had been building up in me all night while it made the blood pound through my veins so hard it was a miracle I could still hear at all. Muscles tightened reflexively when she lifted her hands from my chest to scrape her fingernails up my back.

"Damn you," she gasped, digging in when my teeth found the sweet spot at the nape of her neck.

"Quite probably," I murmured agreeably, smiling against her skin.

A second later she'd sunk her fingers in my hair, tugging back to lift my face up to hers. Her lips were hot and frantic, her body pressing against mine so tightly it felt like she was trying to crawl under my skin. Any semblance of control went right out the window when her teeth bit down and her nails sunk into my shoulders hard enough to draw blood. Slipping my hands up under her dress I jerked her up, wrapping her legs around my hips so I could cup the tender skin at the back of her thighs, and lust gleefully raked vicious claws across my gut when I realized the only thing that had been beneath her skirt that entire interminable evening was a thin, flimsy thong.

"Your room or mine?"

Lifting my head, I stared at her blankly. Room? I had every intention of snapping the straps on that tiny bit of lace and sinking into her where we stood, flat against the wall where I could watch her eyes cloud with passion while her muscles clenched and rippled around me. Then I remembered where we were and cursed.

"Which one's closer?"

"Yours."

Reluctant doesn't quite cover how I felt when I slid her back down my body, groaning when her hot flesh pressed against the conspicuous ache in my pants. Stepping back, I hastily straightened her clothes before grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the bank of elevators. Nudging her up against the rough surface I brought my lips back to hers, slamming my hand on the button before running my fingers up to stroke the sides of her breasts. Jaz wrapped her arms around my neck and whimpered, a kittenish, mewling sound that left me in very real danger of humiliating us both when I decided I didn't care about the crowd of people in the room on the other side of that wall and dragged her down onto the floor in a desperate attempt to alleviate some of the pressure that was burning me alive.

For once, the gods of embarrassment were on my side and the elevator doors popped open a minute later. We bumped and stumbled into the car, pressing the button to close the doors behind us. As soon as the grinding sound of the motor filled the air and I was sure I wasn't going to have to kill anyone for being stupid enough to try and climb into the elevator with us I backed her into the mirrored walls, dropping to my knees and clutching the soft swirl of fabric up around her hips so I could press my mouth against the hot apex at the center of her thighs. The fingers tugging rhythmically at my hair in time with the rhythm of my tongue and the soft, passionate pants and pleas that told me she was getting close made my heart pound harder, and when I slid my lips along the dampened edge of the thong she came, trembling, in my arms.

With her head thrown back against the edge of the car, her eyes dark and tempestuous with completion and newly budding desire, she looked like a pagan goddess. A shiver raced down my spine and I stood up, stroking a hand down her fiery waterfall of hair, drowning in the depths of her dilated pupils before my body insistently reminded me that satisfaction was still a long way off. The doors picked that precise moment to swing open with a ding and I swept her up again, laughing at her delighted smile as she crossed her ankles behind my back and squeezed me tight before peppering her lips with kisses, spinning her whimsically down the hall while our tongues danced in an intimate tango that left us both flushed and panting by the time we reached my door.

A second later her nimble fingers dipped down into my pockets, stopping to stroke me intimately and back the breath up in my lungs before emerging with a fiendish grin, my room key in hand. I grabbed it from her and slipped it into the slot while those busy hands reached back down to unbutton the clasp on my slacks and slide eagerly inside, the soft brush of her skin against mine making me jerk violently against her. We didn't make it to the bed. Hell, we didn't even make it past the damn bathroom. The minute the door was open I had her hard up against the wall in the front walkway, yanking at the thin barrier between us until it gave way with an audible snap while she shifted with a sinuous motion that threatened to end it all before it even began to slide my slacks and the too-tight boxers underneath out of the way.

Biting down firmly on the side of her neck, grabbing her hips to brace us both, I thrust inside her before the door finished closing behind us.

The moon was high, bathing the room in a silver glow. Full moon. A quick smirk tugged at the corner of my lips and I fought back the urge to howl, glancing down at the sleeping woman in my arms. We'd made love for hours before her human body had given in to exhaustion and she'd collapsed against my shoulder, pressing her lips to my skin before her eyes finally slid shut and she slipped into sleep.

It was a strange sensation, lying there in the dark with Jaz sound asleep in my arms, her breath lightly puffing out from between parted lips onto my skin. I'd always been careful not to spend the night when we were together, afraid I'd make a good thing go bad if we started throwing the awkward intimacy of the morning after into the equation. Much better to duck out before she fell asleep so she wouldn't wake up expecting me to be there. Tonight, however, I found I enjoyed the feeling of holding her close while she dreamed, knowing when her eyes slid back open it would be on the wave of pleasure I intended to give her after she'd had a couple hours' sleep.

Running my fingers down the soft skin on her shoulders I smiled, leaning forward to press my lips to her nape so I could feel her curl up against me tighter…and froze. Teeth marks marred the side of her neck, and on the pale surface of the hip that had slipped free of the sheet I'd wrapped her up in was a shadow that would undoubtedly turn into a bruise by the time she woke up. The night's reality came crashing down on me like a bucket of cold water and I pulled back in horror, unable to stand even the sight of my dark hands against that pale skin.

What the hell had I done? From the minute I'd seen her sitting there, looking like every wet dream I'd ever had, I'd acted like an idiot. I'd yelled at her, embarrassed her in front of her family, dragged her away from Leah's party and worse, much, much worse, made love to her like an animal, without an ounce of control to remind me that I could crush those thin, fragile bones of hers to dust with a squeeze of my hand. Gentleness, and the mindfulness of the differences between us, had always come naturally to me, but that had all gone out the window the minute I felt her lips moving against mine. The sight of those marks on her skin, marks I'd put there in a moment of carelessness because I'd been too carried away by what we did to each other to have even a sliver of restraint, made bile burn hot and fresh against the back of my tongue.

It wasn't as bad as what Sam did to Emily, but it could have been.

The soft chirp from the cell phone that had tumbled from my pants pocket as we stumbled to the bed the second…or was it the third?...time we'd made love cut through the darkness, and I rushed over to grab it before it could wake the sleeping beauty on the bed. The name on the Caller ID only added to the list of sins I'd committed that night, and nausea rolled through my stomach. Maria. My freaking imprint. The woman I was supposed to be devoted to for the rest of my life. Barely a week, and I'd cheated on her with my best friend. I hadn't thought about her at all while I'd been with Jaz. What the hell did that say about me?

My finger hovered for a second before I clicked the button, filling the previously welcoming room with a dense, accusing silence as I ignored the call. It was crappy, I knew, but I couldn't talk to her with Jaz's scent still clinging to my skin and the woman herself curled trustingly around the pillow on the bed. She stirred, moaning my name in her sleep, and I felt myself starting to get hard all over again. Damn it, what was _wrong_ with me? I wasn't even supposed to look twice at another woman these days, but having Jaz in my arms had felt so damn _right_ it hadn't even occurred to me that she didn't belong there. Hell, I hadn't thought at all, just acted on what my body was screaming at me to do without a second thought for the consequences.

She was never going to forgive me.

Wracked with guilt, I dug a pair of shorts out of my suitcase and threw them on. There was no way sleep was coming any time soon, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to stand seeing the hurt accusation in those eyes when she woke up. Glancing out the window onto the balcony I hesitated, then walked out the door and swung down the side of the building, coming up again a minute later with a pilfered rose from the garden below and laying it gently on the bedside table where she'd see it when she woke up.

A flicker of moonlight caught my eye, sending metallic sparks flying off of something in the corner of the room. I grinned when I realized it was Jaz's phone lying on the floor next to the crumpled puddle of dress I'd pulled off of her somewhere between the door and the bed. Since her dress didn't have any pockets, and I hadn't found it earlier, it would be interesting to ask her exactly where she'd managed to hide it if she ever spoke to me again.

The very real chance that after tonight she was never going to want to see me again was chilling. I scooped down to pick the phone up and lay it, flip face open, next to the flimsy bloom that didn't even come close to atoning for how far wrong this day had gone. Hesitating, I typed out a quick text, changed my mind, changed it back, then finally erased it, starting over and sending it before I could talk myself out of it all over again. Tucking my own phone back in my pocket, I heard the familiar 'ping' of a message received before I slipped out the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hello all! I know it's extremely abnormal for me to keep everyone waiting for updates for so long, and I apologize. I spent the weekend out of town. You know all that free time and peace and quiet you get to work on projects when you're visiting your parents? Yeah, me either. So I hope you'll forgive me, and stay tuned to find out what happened during Jaz's morning after!**

**Jaz**

Caught in the dreamland halfway between sleep and wakefulness, I nuzzled my face into the pillow and drank in Quil's warm, musky scent. Maybe it was the wolf, maybe it was the soft cotton of the pillows or maybe it was simply Quil, but the smell of him always lingered, letting me loiter in dreams just a little longer before reality came crashing back in. The sunlight streaming through the window burned bright against my closed eyelids and danced across my naked skin, the heat against the cool sheets making me stretch like a cat sprawled in a sunbeam.

Blinking my eyes open, smiling at the sights and sounds of the children splashing in the garden pool, I rolled over…and frowned. Children? Garden? Awareness slowly sunk in at the feel of the stiff and slightly scratchy comforter that was scrunching beneath my toes. A hotel. Leah's wedding. Still caught up in the morning fog that clouded my mind I wandered into the bathroom, cupped a handful of cold water to splash on my face and glanced up in the mirror, eyes widening at the ugly red bite marks on my neck.

Oh yeah. That's what happened last night.

A quick glance at the rest of me sparked off peals of laughter.

"Wow," I mused, poking experimentally at a mark on the top of my breast. "I don't remember you."

The red marks on the pale skin beneath my ears were the least of my worries. They were brilliantly accessorized by the faint shape of a hand on the wrist he'd grabbed to drag me to the elevators, purple shadows on my waist where he'd pinned me to the wall in those first frenzied thrusts and the distinct shape of teeth at the top of my right thigh that I flushed just thinking about. Wriggling my hips experimentally, I winced. All right, that was going to hurt later. It was worth it.

The iron-clad control Quil kept on himself when we were together was, at times, incredibly frustrating. It wasn't that he was overly careful with me, or that he ever left unsatisfied because he was afraid of going too far. It was more of a constant awareness that he could never quite let himself go. I knew that kind of control was a necessary evil. It was easy to forget that behind his happy-go-lucky smile and wicked sense of humor, Quil was a whole lot more than just a guy I had the hots for. That lean build disguised the fact that he could lift a car one-handed and rip the head off of supernatural creatures made from stone. My puny human body, made of soft tissues and bone rather than steel or granite, wouldn't stand a chance if he snapped.

That didn't mean I liked being the only one who fell apart in our bed, and a soft, purely feminine thrill of pleasure ripped through me at the very tangible proof that he'd been anything but controlled the night before.

Completely comfortable with my nudity (there were some perks to growing up with a tribe full of shapeshifters), I wandered out to survey the wreckage in the room. There were clothes strewn from the door to the bed where we'd slipped and slithered out of them, tugging and ripping in our attempts to get rid of the barriers between us without actually having to let go of the sensation of skin on skin. Picking up what was left of my thong from the night before, I pursed my lips. Well. Looked like I was going to be going commando on my walk of shame back to my room for some clean clothes.

A flash of pink caught my eye from the top of the bedside table. Walking over, I picked up the bloom, spinning it experimentally in my hands before raising it to my nose. The baby pink, unstructured swirl of petals told me it had been swiped from the garden below rather than purchased from a florist, and the soft, heady smell brought a smile to my lips. Then I saw the message on the open flip phone lying beside it.

"I'm sorry."

Picking up the phone, I tapped my finger contemplatively against the outside edge before replying simply, "I'm not."

All right, so it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever said. It was only going to make things more awkward between us the next time I saw him, especially considering he was imprinted (and I wasn't even _trying_ to think about what that meant for what had happened last night) but at that point I was hard pressed to regret it. Our relationship had ended with an abruptness that was completely at odds with the slow, steady way it had begun. He'd just been gone. The small, hazy and generally ignored part of my sex-starved brain that hadn't melted at the familiar feeling of his lips on my skin had known it would be the last time I would have the chance to be with him that way, and I had grabbed on to that opportunity with both hands.

If Quil had walked away for any reason other than imprinting, I would have said I was trying to make a point. Namely, that no other woman could do it for him the way I did. Alright, so maybe "no other woman" wasn't perfect truth in advertising. My ego wasn't that big. The fact was, however, I had been the one that pushed him past the sweet, civilized, gentle lover into the primitive mating dance we'd danced the night before. I knew he wanted my body, and if I'd been fighting another woman instead of a supernatural mating of souls I would have capitalized on that.

Since it _was_ imprinting, however, and I knew there was no point, I let the night before give me a sense of closure. We'd had our one last time together, and let's face it-it's pretty damn hard to feel guilty once your orgasms reached the double digits.

Eyeballing Quil's suitcase, I shrugged. If he was going to destroy my clothes, the least he could do was hook me up with some new ones. It was one thing to do the walk of shame back to my hotel room in the clothes I'd worn the night before. It was another thing entirely to walk around the hotel in that dress, however gorgeous it was, knowing that I didn't have a stitch on underneath. Kinky, but risky.

"Boxers, boxers, boxers…"

A quick dig through his suitcase, which I didn't feel guilty about in the least, turned up a pair of soft flannel boxers and a t-shirt that would hang to my knees but did the job admirably. Pulling the shirt over my head I walked over to the sliding glass doors on the balcony overlooking the swimming pool and the splashing children that had woken me up in the first place. A soft, warm, fuzzy feeling crawled through my chest at the sight of Quil standing at the edge of the garden with Embry, who was arguing with Sam.

They were too far away for their words to carry up, and I didn't want to step outside and risk him seeing me. Instead, I leaned back against the edge of the window pane and just drank in the way the sun glinted off his hair and the bronze skin of his bare chest. At some point the night before I'd collapsed on the hard planes of those muscles, happily drifting off to sleep in his arms for the first time since our odd relationship had begun. While I was absolutely certain that fact was going to hurt like hell later, when I had to go home to my empty bed, for now I could just be grateful I'd had the opportunity once before he'd had to go.

My morning-after musings were interrupted by a knock at the door and a soft voice calling my name. Frowning…I knew it wasn't Quil...I stepped away from the window, walking across the room (and kicking clothes away in the process) to turn the knob. My face immediately flushed like an 18 year old virgin when I saw Carlisle standing there, his casual khakis, crisp blue button-up shirt and carefully tousled blond hair making embarrassment crawl through my gut. It was one thing to tell myself Quil and I were both consenting adults, and whatever the hell had happened between us the night before had happened between us. It was something else entirely to stand there in front of my friend and colleague in the hotel room of a man we both knew was involved with another woman, the tangled sheets and the clothing scattered across the floor leaving no doubt about _exactly_ what we'd been up to the night before.

"Good morning Jazmine. I understand you're in need of some assistance?"

The gently probing tone to his voice was…puzzling. All right, so I could use a little help getting back to my hotel room before (literally) everyone and their brother had their suspicions about what had happened between Quil and I the night before confirmed, but I certainly wasn't going to ask Carlisle for that.

"What are you talking about?"

"Quil came and found me earlier. He said you were resting in his room and you'd been injured?"

All I could do was stare at Carlisle's carefully blank expression, the one I'd dubbed his "doctor face" because it was the only time you couldn't tell what was going on in that bubbling brain of his. It was great with worried patients, who were able to spill out their troubles without feeling like they were being judged, but it was really fucking annoying when he'd barged in and interrupted your morning after. And why the hell would Quil have sent Carlisle to me anyway? He liked him well enough, but I couldn't exactly see him inviting him up for a casual brunch.

"Why the hell would Quil say…?"

Carlisle looked pointedly at my wrists, where the bruises from the night before were clearly evident in the morning sunshine, and I finally got it. God damn it. That stupid, stupid idiot. Suddenly his text message made perfect sense. It wasn't just that he was sorry we'd spontaneously combusted in bed, or for leaving me alone this morning, which hadn't really surprised me anyway. He thought he'd actually hurt me.

No wonder he hadn't stuck around. I'd assumed it was just that he was feeling awkward and guilty, which was bad enough but nothing I couldn't make right with a reminder that we could just take last night for what it was-two former lovers saying goodbye while one of them moved on to a new chapter in their life. But Quil had slipped the night before, and I had the marks to prove it. He'd had it drilled into his head over and over again from the moment he phased that losing control around a human was completely unacceptable, and he would have taken those bites and bruises very, very personally.

"Oh, for the love of God Carlisle, I'm fine. We just got a little…carried away."

The solemn man stared at me for a long moment, his eyes probing, as though he could see through my façade to tell if I had any pain I was hiding to protect my lover. Then his lips moved into a knowing grin.

"Actually, given the way the two of you left the party last night, and the fact that Quil seemed to be in perfect health this morning, I rather assumed it was something along those lines. So…" He reached into the small medical bag at his side, the one he kept packed with ordinary supplies for the relatively rare occasions we were making house calls for humans instead of wolves, "…I brought you these."

He handed me an ice pack and a tube of Neosporin. I flushed and grabbed both out of his hands.

"Thanks. Now go away," I grumbled, shaking the ice pack and setting it on my hip, tossing the cream onto the dresser for later use. It was undignified, and I'd _never_ do it in front of Quil, but the biting cold did feel good against my sensitive skin. Worth it or not, that stupid bruise was starting to hurt.

"You're certain you're unharmed otherwise?" The smirk had disappeared from his face, replaced by a look of gentle concern. "And it's not just the bruises I'm referring to, either."

My heart warmed. He'd been the one to set aside his casual aloofness and come into my office to sit on the floor and hold me while I cried after Quil told me about Maria. There was no reason to lie to him about how I felt, not now, and I loved that he had come out and asked me that. For a bloodsucker, he really was a very good man.

"Yeah, I'm okay Carlisle. I really am. I think…I know it's going to hurt like hell later, but I think I really needed this, you know? It's like…now I've finally got some closure, and I can start to learn how to let him go."

Impulsively, I leaned forward and placed a light kiss on that cold marble cheek.

"Thanks for asking, and for checking up on me."

He smiled, reaching out to lay a hand on the back of my head and pull me into his shoulder.

"You're very welcome. I know…" he hesitated, searching for words in a way I knew was completely out of character for him. Carlisle had always been a silver tongued bastard. "I know it might be difficult for a while. It's hard to let go of love, no matter how unselfish that love may be. What you're doing is admirable. If you need anything, or if there's anything I can do to make the process easier, please don't hesitate to ask."

Placing a light kiss on the top of my head, he laid his cheek on my hair as I squeezed, then let go and stepped back, brushing tears from my eyes. He walked over to the door, opening it before turning back to me.

"And if nights like tonight get to be a habit, please let me know. I'd be happy to thrash him for you."

With that Carlisle walked out of the room, leaving me gaping after him. Did he really just say he'd be happy to _thrash_ him for me?

Ten minutes later I was standing in my bare feet, dress crumpled in my hands, hopping anxiously from foot to foot in between shooting furtive glances up and down the hallway. The elevator dinged and I breathed a sigh of relief, only to moan when I looked up and met David's bright, dancing eyes.

"Well well well, look who managed to get away from the Big Bad Wolf." He grinned when I rolled my eyes and stepped into the elevator, scooching in next to Eli, one of the pack alphas. "So tell me Red, what's a guy got to do to get an invitation to Grandma's house?"

Always the comedian. I worked up a smile, trying to relax but desperately uncomfortable standing next to the man I'd let kiss me the night before wearing my…whatever's…t-shirt and underwear.

"Grandma's house is a little far away, but even if it wasn't, I certainly wouldn't invite you. You'd eat all the goodies, and then where would I be?"

David opened his mouth to reply, then stopped, his face going flat and hard. Reaching down, he lifted my hand to study the bruise on my wrist. A low growl came from behind me and I looked back to see Eli's lips curled back to bare his teeth, his hands shaking at his sides. His voice when he spoke, however, was perfectly reasonable.

"Do you want me to kill him for you?"

"Oh my god, you guys." Indignant, I snatched back my hand. "What is it with everyone wanting to kill people this morning? I. Am. Fine."

Eli reached over, lifting the corner of the hair I'd carefully pulled over my ears. Damn it.

"And how do you explain this? It looks like you were attacked. Show me who, and I'll rip the son of a bitch limb from limb."

David gently laced his fingers through mine.

"We can help you Jaz. Was it that jerk that dragged you out of the party last night? I knew I shouldn't have let you go with him, but those two hulking friends of his got in the way and I didn't want to cause a scene. They swore up and down he wouldn't hurt you."

Eli growled again.

"I'd be happy to cause a scene now."

I couldn't help it. I snorted with laughter, ignoring the indignant look he gave me.

"Jesus you two. You're killing me here. I promise you, I'm absolutely fine. It's not what it looks like."

There was no doubt in my mind that if Quil actually had hurt me, Eli wouldn't think twice before dismembering him. The tall, thin young man with the dark, gentle eyes, serious face and thick shock of hair might have looked like your average boy next door, but you didn't get to be alpha by being average…especially not in a wolf pack. Or gentle. Or particularly kind. Despite the fact that he looked like he was barely old enough to drink, he'd been a resident of SoCal back before the settlers started coming west looking for gold. I'd seen him fight more than once over the years I'd lived with the Mojave, and I had watched him wipe the floor with wolves twice his size without breaking a sweat (metaphorically speaking). He sat at the top of the pack hierarchy, and his judgment, when it came, was always swift and ruthless. Eli wasn't someone you wanted to fuck with. Ever.

He also had a wicked sense of humor, and he'd always loved to torment me. Staring at the bites on my neck, and the bruises on my wrists, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up in a gloating smirk.

"I see," he said politely, the tone of his voice completely at odds with the gleam in his eyes. "Good night then?"

I couldn't help the answering grin, or the prim response.

"A real lady doesn't kiss and tell."

We smiled at each other for a minute, then I glanced over at David and immediately felt guilty. He was staring at me, hurt and confusion shining in his eyes. Crap. I'd gotten so caught up in joking around with Eli that I'd forgotten he wasn't likely to laugh at the news that I'd spent the night in Quil's bed. Staring at him just a little bit desperately, I felt relief rush through me when the elevator stopped. That relief disappeared, however, when he got off behind me, waving for Eli to go on without him and walking with me down the hall to my room.

"Why didn't you tell me you were seeing the wolf? I wouldn't have…I mean, I would have…damn it Jaz, no wonder he flipped out. If I'd known…"

I sighed, slipping my key card into the slot in the door. Crap, this was about to get complicated. I thought about trying to explain it all, from the way we'd met to the weird relationship we'd had over the years. But I figured the easiest thing to do was keep it simple. I didn't want to hurt him any more than I had to, and if I was serious about letting Quil go it couldn't hurt to let David know I might be interested.

"We had a thing, then he imprinted. Last night was just…closure, I guess."

He'd understand…and, I suspected, know it wasn't anywhere near as cut-and-dried as I made it sound. Like me, he'd seen far too many couples torn apart by imprinting, knew the destruction and heartache it could leave behind. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his too-human warmth, laying my head against his too soft chest. I realized wryly that all the men I'd been held by lately had been either vampires or wolves, and his humanity was just a little bit unnerving.

"I'm sorry Jaz. I didn't realize…it's still new, isn't it?"

"Last week."

A shuddering breath shook through his chest, then he sighed.

"And I came in like a bulldozer. I'm sorry. Really." Leaning back, he slipped his hand under my chin, tilting my face back so I could look into his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Oh, hell no. The horror must have been written all over my face, because he laughed, pulling me in for another hug.

"All right, I get it. If you change your mind, let me know." He let go of me, stepping back and reaching around to swat me in the ass. "In the meantime, why don't you go grab a shower and we'll go see Dad? I was actually coming up to tell you your friends are planning to stay a couple more hours before you head out, and my life's not worth the shoes I'm standing here in if I don't bring you by for lunch."

Bless David. I knew he hadn't forgotten his confessions from the night before, but he was giving me space and I was grateful for it. Maybe…

For the second time that day, my internal analysis was interrupted by a knock at the door. Groaning, I reached over and turned the knob, pulling back to reveal a scowling Orrin standing in the hallway. His eyes widened a little at the sight of my clothing and the fact that David was standing in my room, but his words immediately wiped away any defensive explanations I might have made.

"You have a problem."


	16. Chapter 16

**Quil**

"Have you lost your mind?"

Instant cringe. Damn, I hated wolf reflexes sometimes.

"What are you talking about?"

The look on Sam's face could have withered a tree at 20 yards. Damn it. He and Emily were supposed to have left already. The plan was to head out early enough to get some sleep before we all had to go back to work. Embry was supposed to meet me, then we were going to grab Andy (who still wasn't speaking to him) and head back home. I'd been counting on the long, silent car ride to figure out what the hell had happened last night, maybe start planning where I was going to go when Jaz told me to get the fuck out of her life.

Sam wasn't going to give me peace or silence. Oh no. Our almighty alpha wanted some answers.

"It's a distinct possibility." Maybe he'd let me off on the insanity plea.

"It's bad enough you almost caused a brawl in the middle of Leah's wedding-she told me you were a dead man if she phased and ripped that dress, by the way-but don't even try and tell me the two of you sat around swapping recipes all night. You're imprinted, Quil. What the fuck? Are you _trying_ to fuck up her life even more than you already have?"

He glowered at me, and with the light at his back I had to admit he looked pretty goddamn intimidating. The wolf wanted to roll over belly up to appease the alpha. The man wanted to tell him to mind his own fucking business. Fortunately, I was saved from having to make a decision one way or the other when Embry stalked up.

"Where the fuck is she?"

Sam gave me a cool look that said he wasn't anywhere near done with me and turned to Embry.

"Which she are you talking about?"

"Don't be cute. Where the fuck is my wife?"

My eyebrows winged up. It took guts-or plain stupidity-to mouth off like that to Sam. The light in his eyes had me edging out of the way. Maybe I was going to walk out of this in one piece after all, but it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Are you talking about the wife that washed the clothes you packed in that bag when you left? Or maybe the one that showed up in tears last night-ruining a very promising night, may I add-because she didn't know where the hell you were? Or maybe you're talking about the wife that's up with Jake and Bella, getting ready to leave your sorry ass because she's fed up with the disappearing act you keep pulling. Which wife would that be?"

Sam rolled his eyes when Embry just glared at him. Leaning against the edge of the small gate at my back-whoever had done the landscaping obviously had a thing for that whole "white picket fence" illusion of serenity-I settled in for the show. This was going to be good, and best friend or not, Embry had it coming. If Andy had gone to Emily, she'd given Sam an earful. Emily, not Andy. Andy would never bitch to Sam about Embry. Some kind of girl code. But Emily…and if Embry's stupidity was the reason Sam didn't get laid last night…

Oh yeah. This was going to be good.

"Is there a problem?"

The old guy Jaz had been talking to yesterday appeared out of freaking nowhere, leaning on an intricately carved walking stick, his shoulders hunched like some weird Quasimodo and a look on his face that said he had all the time in the world to stand right there and stick his nose into what was going on between Sam and Embry. I could have told him it was a bad idea, but something about his expression practically screamed that I could say it until I was blue in the face. He still wasn't going to listen.

"No, no problem," Sam said easily. "Just some internal affairs to sort out."

"Or you could just mind your own business."

Sam bared his teeth. The old guy stepped between them, laying a hand on Embry's shoulder.

"Now now. Remember, the young often don't…"

He trailed off, looking at Embry, and I swear his face went stark white. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

"What's your name?"

The previously confident voice was shaky, thready and coated in a thick layer of fear. Something had him scared shitless, and considering he'd just stepped between two pissed off wolves without batting an eye I didn't think that happened very often.

"The man asked you a question."

The voice cut through the air like a knife. Sam was big on toeing the line, making sure you showed the proper respect. The fact that Embry was just standing there, hands stuffed in the pockets of his shorts, shoulders hunched, while he spoke to one of the elders of the Mojave tribe was going to go over like a lead balloon.

"Embry," he muttered sullenly, and I realized that Sam had, without comment and without hesitation, used his power as alpha to make Embry answer.

"Embry, you stay right here, do you hear me? Right. Here." He looked at Sam. "I'll be right back."

Confusion had replaced the anger on his face, but Sam nodded and the crazy old man hurried off. When he was gone, we both turned back to stare at Embry, who was scuffing a toe at the dirt at his feet. What the hell was his problem? Yeah, he'd always been a smart ass, but Embry was a good guy. He worked hard, kept the bitching to a minimum when Sam asked him to do something he didn't want to do. He was polite to everyone, even when he couldn't stand you, and God knew he was crazy about Andy. This Embry, the one that mouthed off to Sam, walked out on his wife and seriously considered taking his life in his hands for the sheer pleasure of ditching Leah's wedding…

None of us had ever seen him before.

A few minutes later the old guy came back, doing this strange little scoot and shuffle with his walking stick, followed by the octopus and…

My heart slammed when I saw Jaz hustling along behind the two men, hair fluttering in the breeze, my Grateful Dead t-shirt hanging over her obviously braless breasts and dangling down to brush the tops of her knees. She was so damn tiny my shirts hung on her like the proverbial little black dress. The mental image of her slipping on a pair of those spiky shoes women were so fond of these days and going dancing looking like a Dead Head gone wrong made me smile.

The smile faded when the wind pushed her hair off of her neck. Guilt was a hot knife in my belly when I saw the marks and bruises I'd left on her the night before and I shrank back, hoping she wouldn't see me standing there. Stupid, I know. Like there was any chance she was going to miss a seven foot wolf practically standing on top of her, right? Didn't stop me from trying.

She glanced over and gave me a bright, sunny smile. The corners of my mouth tugged up, then shot back down. Damn it, she wasn't supposed to be smiling at me. She was supposed to be pissed. She was supposed to go tell those behemoth "brothers" of hers that had been giving me the evil eye all morning to pound the crap out of me. Maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to shed enough blood to atone for half of what I'd done to her.

Rolling her eyes, Jaz came over, setting her hands on my shoulders and stretching up. Involuntarily my arms wrapped around her waist the way I'd done hundreds of times before, bending down so she could press those soft lips against the skin on my face.

"That was a hell of a going away present," she murmured. "But if you're going to tell a girl goodbye, you should at least stick around to say it to her face the morning after, got it?"

Lifting a hand off my shoulder she patted my cheek, then pulled out of my arms while I stood there gaping like an idiot. My fingers had gone numb. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure you could have jabbed an ice pick into my foot right about then and I wouldn't have noticed.

"What have we got?"

Well wasn't she just Mary Sunshine. She was doing it on purpose, I thought, befuddlement shifting to confusion, then finally anger, making me grit my teeth and glare back at the octopus giving me the evil eye. I'd mauled her like the dog I spent most of my life pretending I wasn't. No woman could be happy about that, which meant she was biding her time. Lulling me into a false sense of complacency.

Completely ignoring the little voice in the back of my head that reminded me Jaz could pull out that voodoo-hoodoo of hers and knock me unconscious without breaking a sweat, I stepped carefully away from the woods, my supernatural senses peeled to the slightest sound from behind me. Maybe it was an ambush. Maybe it wasn't. But what if it was? The familiar itch started to crawl up my back and I pushed it back down, ignoring Sam's wary eye. Jesus. Like I'd really phase in the middle of a crowded hotel garden, with freaking kids running around everywhere. What did he think I was, stupid?

Probably.

"What the hell?"

The sharp, shocked exclamation pulled me out of paranoia land and back to the present, where Jaz and the Octopus were standing next to Embry-and way too close to each other for my peace of mind. That same black, snarling sensation climbed the back of my throat, making my stomach lurch. Guilt, I figured, coupled with a healthy dose of humility. Swallowing back the nausea, I tried to tune in to what they were saying.

"This isn't possible." Jaz was shaking her head in denial while Embry glared over her head, Sam's watchful eyes holding him in place. I knew the trapped predator inside of him was screaming for him to run. It had taken a long time for me to get over the sensation of spiders crawling over my skin when Jaz got too close, a side effect of her…whatever butting heads with the freak inside of me. Pieces of conversation picked up here and there this morning had coughed up the information that _David_ was some kind of witch doctor, or medicine man, or whatever the hell. He wasn't a shaman, but I was guessing from the discomfort rapidly edging toward violence on Embry's face that our wolves didn't like it any better.

"What's not possible?"

"Something's…_corroding_ his bonds. More specifically, the bonds that connect him to Andy."

Her eyes were huge, and just a little scared, the same way the old guy's had been when he'd touched Embry. Next to me, Sam scowled.

"I thought nothing could tamper with the bond once it was sealed."

"It can't, but somehow, something has." The old guy's voice was grim. "I don't know how, but whatever it is, it's a nasty piece of business."

Ya think?

"What do you mean corroding?"

The octopus turned to Sam, his face as pale as Jaz's.

"When a mated pair bonds, the threads tying them together are like…gold plated steel. At least, that's how we see them. Shiny and unbreakable. His…" he nodded at Embry "…is rusted, for lack of a better word."

Sam looked clueless, and I was pretty sure I wasn't any better. What was that supposed to mean? Jaz sighed, looking at me.

"Quil, what happens when something rusts?"

"It oxidizes, becomes fragile, can't protect properly," I said by rote. "You have to be careful not to hit it with too much force, or…"

No fucking way.

"Or what?" Jaz prodded me on. "What would happen if you gave that rusty metal a good, hard kick?"

I swallowed.

"It would fall apart."

David nodded, his face set.

"Unless I'm mistaken, somebody's setting your friend here up for a good, hard kick."

Holy shit. I stared at Embry, who had shoved his hands in his pockets and gone back to staring at the ground. If something had been fucking with his bonds…nope, still not a good enough excuse for what he'd been doing to Andy. There was something seriously fucked up going on here, but the dipshit had been crazy about her. That wouldn't just disappear because the bond was weaker, would it? Shit, it had taken almost a year before I could see another girl without feeling guilty, and Claire was dead. And my bond had been broken. And she'd been _four_.

"It takes time for something to rust."

The observation was said simply, almost clinically. The old man nodded at Sam.

"You're right, this didn't happen overnight. I assume your friend has been exhibiting some…odd behavior?" I snorted. "As I suspected. Embry…" He dipped his head down to look under the thick shag of hair that had grown out over Embry's face without Andy nagging at him to get it cut, leaning heavily on the teetering stick in his hand. "…I need you to think carefully. Have you met anyone unusual lately, anyone at all?"

Flipping his hair back out of his face Embry looked up, jaw set, looking sullenly into the old man's eyes. We all held out breath waiting for him to answer, but he stayed stubbornly silent. Then Jazmine groaned.

"God damn it, Embry. Tell me you didn't."

"Didn't what?"

Feeling like a bobblehead I looked from Jaz to Embry. What the hell was I missing?

"Who is she? Damn it, Embry, who the fuck is she?"

Looking over at Jaz, jaw set, Embry looked like he wanted to argue. Then his shoulders slumped and he sighed, eyes softening, a smile tipping up the corners of his mouth.

"Brynn. Her name's Brynn. I met her in Port Angeles about a month ago."

The tone of his voice told me Embry had it, and he had it bad. How? That didn't make sense. Once you imprinted, that was it. You barely saw other girls. You certainly didn't walk around falling in love with them, and you definitely didn't toss your imprint-your _wife-_aside for some short term fling.

'What about last night?' whispered a voice in my head.

'That's different,' I shot back. 'It's still new, that's all. Give it a little time. Embry and Andy have been together forever.'

The old man nodded. "Anyone else?"

He didn't get a chance to answer.

"You son of a bitch!"

Andy stood there, face white, shaking with anger. Beside her stood a scowling Jake and a flushed and embarrassed Bella, Billy on her hip. They'd obviously overheard the whole thing, and they weren't happy.

"You were cheating on me?" Eyes lasering in on Embry, Andy stalked over. "The whole time…the whole _fucking_ time…you've been cheating on me?"

Glaring at her, Embry set his jaw mutinously, crossing his arms over his chest and refusing to speak. An inhuman growl slipping out of her lips, Andy lunged at him. Bella quickly caught her wrist as she pulled her arm back, hand balled in a fist.

"You don't want to do that. Trust me."

"I do."

Lips curled back, shoulders hunched, Jacob walked over to stand nose to nose with Embry, who had transformed from sullen to belligerent.

"You've been fucking some whore you met in Port Angeles this whole fucking time?"

"Yeah, so what?"

There was blood everywhere. Jake and Embry were rolling on the ground, pounding on each other, fists and knees flying in fury. Jake sunk his teeth into Embry's arm and he howled, rolling over to sink and elbow into his gut.

"Jake…Jake…Jacob!"

Quick as a blink Sam reached into the fray, pulling Jacob off Embry by the scruff of his neck. I took the hint, hooking my arm around Embry's neck and holding him back when he would have lunged for him to finish the fight.

"What is your problem?"

Embry strained against my arm.

"Asshole broke my fucking nose."

"I'll fucking kill you the next time I get my hands on you," swore Jake, before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. Slapping Sam's hands off of him he reached out and wrapped an arm around a red faced, sobbing Andy. "C'mon baby. He doesn't deserve you."

The three of them walked away, Bella glancing over her shoulder helplessly. Jaz watched them go, a contemplative look in her eyes.

"Embry," she said slowly, "you didn't even talk to your wife."

"I've got nothing to say to her."

The tone of his voice caught my attention and had me loosening my arm from around his neck. Yes, he sounded pissed, but he also sounded…desolate.

"She's a very pretty woman," mused David, watching her walk away and flicking his eyes back toward Embry. "If you're not interested…"

I bristled, unconsciously squaring my shoulders and rolling my head. What the fuck? Wasn't one woman enough? He had to go after two? Bad enough he was sniffing at Jaz's heels, but Andy was married. Happily, damn it, until these past couple of weeks. If this slimeball thought he was just going to step in and pick up where Embry left off…

Embry shrugged. "Go ahead. I think if she had someone else that she felt the same way about that I feel about Brynn, this would be easier on her."

"Oh yeah, you've got a problem."

David flicked his eyes from Embry to me, then back again.

"Even with things the way they are, he should have tried to rip my head off for that. Nothing, _nothing_ trumps the way you feel about your mate."

"No reason to be a dog in the manger. Pun intended."

"My point exactly. The whole point of being the dog in the manger is that _you don't want her. _Wolves are extremely possessive of their mates, to the point of violence. Your wolf wouldn't choose to just let Andy go, regardless of how weak the bond between the two of you was. It chose her, and no offense, but it wouldn't let you just step in and fuck it all up." He reached over, squeezing Embry's shoulder. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, we need to get a look at this Brynn."

"There's nothing wrong with Brynn." Embry shrugged off David's hand defensively. "She's fucking amazing, so mind your own business. All of you."

With that parting shot, he walked away. Sam started to walk after him, but the old dude with the funny stick caught his arm.

"Let him go. Whatever's going on, he's not going to hear anything you have to say right now. It's much more important that we get to the bottom of this." He nodded at Jaz and David. "I'm sending David back with you."

"You don't have to do that."

"If you've got something nasty enough to screw with your wolves' mating bonds, it's of concern to all of us. Any help we can provide is yours. While we don't have anyone here right now with the capabilities of young Jazmine, I believe David will be of assistance to you. We need to stop this before it goes any further."

Jaz reached over, pulled him into a hug.

"We appreciate it Orrin, thank you."

He patted her on the back with a smile.

"You're welcome, little wolf."

The old guy-Orrin, Jaz had called him-walked away, Sam and David following behind, undoubtedly talking strategy. Twisting her fingers, Jazmine watched them go with a smile on her face. I didn't see anything to smile about. I'd thought this morning couldn't possibly get any more shitty than it already was, but finding out Embry was cheating on Andy, then discovering we were going to be taking the damned octopus home with us, was the icing on the cake.

"Why do they call you little wolf?" It was something I'd been wondering about since we got there.

"David started calling me that when I was little, when we were both studying with Orrin. Even though my…gifts…let me commune with all of the shapeshifters, I've always had a special affinity with the wolves." She turned that smile on me. "It's been both a blessing and curse."

"Ah." I shifted uncomfortably. Did I bring up last night again? Or did I let it go, and just be grateful she obviously didn't hate me? I hadn't felt this nervous or insecure about anything since Jake and Embry had joined the pack, back before I knew what that meant.

"Listen, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to…I mean…" I huffed an exasperated breath. "Damn it, I hurt you, and I could have done a whole lot worse. I had no right to put you in danger like that."

She looked at me thoughtfully, head tipped to the side, hair tumbling around those shoulders the way it had last night in the moonlight.

"Then why did you?"

Why did I? It was an excellent question, and one I had been too busy beating myself up to think about. Why had I dragged her out of that party? I was worried about her. I didn't want the octopus to chew her up and spit her out. I was just looking out for her…and I was lying to myself. Apparently Embry wasn't the only dog in the manger around here.

"I don't know."

Arching an eyebrow, she studied me just long enough to make me squirm some more before giving an easy shrug.

"You didn't hurt me, Quil. I'd have let you know if you had. The truth is," an appealing blush spread across her cheeks, "I liked it. A lot. And I really, really hate that you regret what I think might have been the best night of my life. So why don't we just chalk it up as what it was-one last night together between friends?"

Well hell. What did you say to that? I was still trying to figure that out when Max came walking over.

"We've got a problem."

"Get in line," I grumbled, making Jaz laugh. Max didn't smile.

"Dr. C just called. I guess Rachel wasn't feeling well, so she and Paul decided not to stay for the reception. They drove back home last night. Jaz…" she looked over, concern, resignation and a fierce anger written all over her face. "It's back."


	17. Chapter 17

**Jaz**

The soft sound of Andy's sobs was the soundtrack to our trip back home. Wedged between me and Billy, the young woman softly but steadily soaked the sleeve of the t-shirt I hadn't been able to make myself take off. Quil would ask for it back soon enough. In the meantime it was warm, it was soft, and with the chills racing up and down my back it provided a sense of comfort I desperately needed.

"I'm sorry," whispered the soggy voice next to me. "I don't know why I can't stop crying."

"Shhhh, it's okay." Bella reached around from the front to stroke a hand down her hair. "You have every right to cry about it."

In the rearview, I saw Jake's jaw tighten. It had taken a tremendous amount of willpower for him to leave without extracting a pound of flesh from the man who, from his point of view, had maliciously broken someone he loved. He was convinced Embry had done it with a cold heart and even colder intent. But something about the way Embry's voice had broken when he'd talked about his wife made me wonder. I had no idea what we were dealing with, but I was willing to bet that whatever had sunk its claws into Embry had been working on him for a while. What kind of toll had that put on the man? Was he as cold as he sounded, or had he himself finally broken? And if it was this Brynn that was doing it, how long had she been eating away at him before he was willing to take her into his arms? The thought that this could have been going on for months, _years_, and none of us had known about it was enough to make me sick.

Unfortunately, right now Embry's fidelity was the least of my problems. Carlisle's call hadn't been good news. Our rogues were back in town. We knew now there were at least two: One had grabbed Paul and Rachel's kids and taken off with them as they were walking from the car to the house, the other had attacked Paul when he'd gone after them...and according to Paul they both smelled like pack, which didn't make any sense considering the entire pack had been present and accounted for at Leah's wedding. Paul was in bad shape, and the wolves from La Push, along with a full contingent of shifters and trackers from the Mojave, were making time up the highway to go track it down and bring the children back. Max had ridden back with Sam and Emily, and we were less than half an hour behind them.

Too much. It was too much. In barely a week my well-ordered life had blown up in my face. My mind (what was left of it) was struggling to balance the nightmare that was my personal life with the news that a member of the pack had been injured, two of the children were missing, whatever was doing it was trying to convince us all that we had a traitor in our midst, and something was gnawing away at Embry's bonds. We'd have to check the others, I realized. We'd have to check them all. There was always the chance that Embry was an isolated case, but with something preying on the cubs I'd have to be stupid not to connect the dots.

The tires spun when we whipped into the parking lot of the clinic, screeching against the smooth cement. It had already been decided that the entire pack was staying at the Cullens' until we brought this thing down. We weren't taking any chances. As soon as we stopped Esme ran out the door, scampering down the stairs to pull Bella into a hug.

"Thank god you're both okay," she whispered, reaching for Billy. "We were so worried something would happen to you before you could get here."

"Keep them inside. No playgrounds, no walks in the woods. This thing has no respect for personal space. If they're outside, they're a target."

"Understood." Esme nodded at Jacob. "Jasper and Alice are trying to help track this thing down. Emmett and Rosalie are keeping watch in case it decides to pay us a visit here. We've got you set up in the west wing." Esme hesitated, looking back and forth between Bella and Jacob, obviously torn. "Bella, Edward's here."

Bella sucked in a breath. Jacob ground his teeth. The silence following her announcement was so thick, you could have heard a pin drop.

"That's good."

Andy and I both snapped our heads around to look at Jake. His eyes were hard, tension practically radiating off of him as he reached out to pull Bella close, but he obviously meant what he said.

"If Edward's here, that's another set of eyes looking out for you. He can handle himself in a fight."

"Jake…" Bella reached up, running her palm along the side of his face, and Jacob's eyes closed.

"I can't stand it," he whispered, reaching up to knot a hand in her hair. "I _have_ to go out with the pack, but I can't stand knowing there's something out there waiting to rip you apart and I can't be here. If something happened to you, or to Billy…" His voice broke.

"We'll be okay," whispered Bella. "I promise you, we'll be okay."

Jacob laughed at that. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Bells."

She opened her mouth, but Jake had already pulled her in for a long, deep kiss. Aware I was intruding on an intimate moment, I smiled at Esme.

"I'm going to go find Carlisle, check on Paul."

"Of course. I'll take your bags on up to your room."

"Oh, I'm not staying Esme. I need to get back home."

Esme frowned disapprovingly.

"Sam said everyone stays here until they catch whatever's doing this. I don't care how big and bad you think you are, or whether or not you're part of the pack, you're staying. I've set up a room for you right next to the clinic."

Until now, I hadn't thought at all about what Sam's edict would mean for me. I'd figured the pack would be staying with the Cullens, and I would continue to come and go as I had been. Stupid, I know, considering what had been going on. And when they brought those kids in, Carlisle was going to need me. It was pointless to pretend I needed to be anywhere else.

"All right." She looked surprised by my easy acceptance, and I smiled. "I'm many things, Esme, but I'm not stupid. Right now, this is the best place for me to be. If you've got room for one more, I'm happy to stay."

With that, I trotted up the stairs and into the clinic. Carlisle was just stepping out of one of the exam rooms, head bent to talk to Max in low, murmuring voices. They both looked up when the bells on the door tinkled merrily behind me.

"Hey slowpoke, about time you got here." Max grinned at me.

"I've ridden with Sam. I _like _staying in one piece. How's he doing?" I nodded my head toward the room they'd just walked out of, where the steady beeping of a heart monitor told me that, for the moment at least, our patient was stable. Carlisle frowned.

"He's stable for now, but I don't know how long we're going to be able to keep him that way. Maxine discovered a way to temporarily neutralize the toxin. It'll eat through it eventually, but it bought us some time."

My eyebrows arched. "_You_ found a way to neutralize the toxin?"

Max flushed to the roots of her purple and black spikes.

"Yeah, well, Mighty Mouse, remember?" She turned her attention to Carlisle. "Call me Maxine again, and I'll have to hurt you."

The vampire chuckled, reaching over to ruffle the tips of her hair.

"I should like to see you try."

He winked at me, then trotted down to his office, leaving me gaping after him.

"What's got him in such a good mood?"

"Edward's here."

"I know, I saw Esme outside. I didn't realize he'd be that happy to see Edward come back."

Max grinned.

"I don't know if it's Edward or the fact that Rosalie stuck her head in here a little bit ago to let us know that Eddie brought his fiancée with him. And before you ask, yes, she's human, and apparently planning to stay that way."

"Wow."

Edward was engaged. Edward was far too old fashioned to have popped the question if he wasn't in love with her, which meant he was finally letting Bella go, which also meant there was no chance he was trying to steal Bella back. Jacob was going to love that. And because she was staying human, the pack wouldn't have to worry about breaking the treaty. The news was like a ray of sun on a wet, rainy day.

"Jaz! You finally made it!" David strode out from somewhere in the back, scooping me up and spinning me around in a huge hug.

"Oh, for the love of Pete," I laughed, wrapping my arms around him and holding on tight. "We couldn't possibly have been that far behind you guys."

"Far enough." He gave me the same quirky smile that used to make my stomach turn. "I've been digging through the files you had on the other two wolves who were attacked, and I had some thoughts. Do you have a second?"

"Sure, I…"

Then Sam Jr. exploded through the doors.

"Jaz! Jaz! Wolf!"

Emily was three steps behind him, laughing wryly.

"I'm sorry, he got away from me. Sam, you need to leave Jaz, Max and Carlisle alone while they're working."

"But wolf! She promised!"

I hunkered down, smiling, pulling Sam into a tight hug and breathing in the scent of his hair. No matter what else came out of this mess, we had saved Sam Jr. I could hold on to that.

"It's okay Em, he's right. I did promise. I'll tell you what," I said to Sam. "Let me finish up what I have to do here, then I'll go back to my house and get the stuff we need. We'll do your wolf tonight."

David was looking at me strangely.

"What's he talking about?"

"His tattoo. We were talking a couple of weeks ago, and he asked me about my tattoo. Then he decided he wanted one. Since giving a seven year old a tattoo is a bad idea, however, I did it in henna." I stood up, lightly brushing a palm against the top of Sam's head. "It's fading. I promised him I'd redo it."

He stared at me blankly for a second, then grinned. Scooping me up again with a loud "Woohoo!" he whirled me around and around until the room spun and my stomach lurched dangerously. "Do you know what this means?"

"I'm going to hurl, then I'm going to need someone to ride back to my house with me?"

A disapproving frown quirked the corners of his lips, but his eyes were dancing.

"Don't be a party pooper. You just solved our mystery."

"I did?"

"You did. Why do you think I picked that tattoo in the first place?"

"I figured it was just a wolf thing," I hedged nervously. David laughed.

"Jaz, we're a tribe full of shapeshifters. It's _never_ just a wolf thing. You know that. That's an ancient symbol of protection. Specifically, protection _for_ wolves, _against_ all the other supernatural nasties out there. I found it in one of our records one day. Even Orinn wouldn't remember it, I don't think, but given what you are it seemed appropriate."

It only took a second.

"You think the tattoo might have been holding this back."

"Which is why you were able to save him and not the little girl."

"Lara," I said by rote, flinching at the memory of the shadows still hiding in Kim's eyes. "Her name was Lara."

"Lara, then."

A soft snort behind us reminded me Max was still there.

"Figures it would be some hocus pocus. So what, we just slap a bunch of wolves on the wolves and call it a day?" She shrugged when I looked at her in surprise. "What? It's illogical, it doesn't make a bit of sense and it has no scientific foundation whatsoever. I hate it. It's perfect."

Four hours later Emmett had escorted me back to my house, we'd made gallons of henna, and every person crammed into the Cullens' house was sporting a shiny new wolf tattoo, including Paul, who was already starting to breathe easier. Whatever it was about the tattoo, or more appropriately, the blessing behind it, which I had duplicated perfectly when I'd done little Sam's the first time just to humor him, was apparently adept at holding back the floodgates on whatever it was that was creeping past our anti-venom. That was good news for us, because it meant we'd be able to treat any other victims. It wouldn't be pretty, and it was still going to be painful, but they were going to live. Sometimes you couldn't ask for more than that. We'd do the rest of the pack when they got back.

Satisfied with the day's work, I walked into Esme's kitchen and found myself face to face with an unfamiliar brunette with cool blue eyes, tightly pinched lips and a thick European accent.

"I'm sorry, I think I got lost again." She huffed in exasperation. "I'm looking for Edward. He said to come this way to find him, but I seem to keep wandering in circles. Perhaps you might be able to help?"

Ah. This must be the fiancée. Pausing, I took a second to study her closer. She should have been completely unremarkable. Her hair was brown and fell sleek and straight to just past her shoulders, her eyes were blue, the linen trousers and silk shirt were attractive (and obviously expensive) but still functional. But there was something about her that demanded your attention.

"This place can feel like a maze after a while," I finally said, smiling when relief crept into her eyes. "I've gotten lost around here more than once. Where did Edward tell you to meet him?"

"In the library?"

"That's down this way. I'm Jaz, by the way." I held out my hand, which she took with dainty grace. "Helene."

We wandered down the hallway, talking easily about Helene's trip, her recent tour and what she thought about being in the states, and by the time we got to the library I was completely charmed. Stepping in, I smiled to see Edward reaching down to pick up a sleeping Billy and lay him on the couch.

"Look who I found."

Grinning from ear to ear, Edward walked over and scooped up his fiancée, planting a light kiss on her mouth.

"You found us. I was starting to think you'd gotten lost."

"I did." She leaned forward to nuzzle his nose with hers before smiling back at me. "Jaz rescued me. I'm afraid I might otherwise have still been wandering the halls of this house."

"It is kind of a monstrosity, isn't it?" Bella smiled, holding out her hand. "I still get lost around here from time to time. I'm Bella."

Helene reached forward, taking the hand she offered while curling herself around Edward's body. If she felt uncomfortable in the presence of Edward's ex, she certainly didn't show it, and the simple, casual affection between the woman and the vampire was as astonishing as it was sweet. Helene treated Edward like…well, like he was just another guy. The four of us passed an easy half hour chatting over the sodas Bella had made appear out of nowhere, and all too soon Helene announced it was time for them to go.

"You haven't met Carlisle yet," objected Edward, reaching down to lift her by the hand. "He'll be free in another hour or so."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. But I'm expecting a call this afternoon, and I'd hate to miss it." Helene fluttered her eyelashes at him, smiling coyly. "We'll see him tomorrow, yes?"

The two of them quickly said their goodbyes, with Edward lingering just long enough over Bella to make her frown but not long enough to start a riot. In a matter of minutes it was just the three of us.

"Well, they didn't let any moss grow under their feet, did they?"

"No, they really didn't." Bella glanced over, amusement on her face. "What did you think of her?"

"I think she looks like hoity toity European trash, and nobody I want to get to know." Max strolled into the room, having swapped her lab coat out for a comfy black blouse and her typical black leather pants. Grabbing a soda off the table she flopped into the open chair next to Bella, propping her boots on the coffee table and smiling over at the sleeping Billy. "I accidentally bumped into her in the hallway. You should have _seen_ the look she gave me. You'd think a cockroach had managed to crawl into her Pradas."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you were the picture of politeness, of course."

"Naturally." Max blinked her wide eyes, making us both laugh.

"Well, I thought she was nice. A little formal, maybe, but let's face it, it has to be a little bit discombobulating to get dropped into a whole houseful of legendary creatures. If she hasn't run screaming, she's doing all right." I looked over at Bella. "What did you think?"

"Yeah," Max chimed in, "how was it seeing Eddie with another girl?"

"It felt…good." Bella shrugged. "I feel like…I dunno, like I've been carrying this weight around all these years because I found someone else and Edward didn't. I don't think I really realized how guilty I felt about that until I met Helene today. She's better for him than I was, I think. Much more proper, much more fastidious, less messy. Much more like him."

"You're not messy," I said loyally, laughing at the look she gave me. "All right, maybe a little, but we love you anyway."

"Speaking of Edward and moving on, how are things going with you and Jake? Did you ever figure out what you're going to do about Italy?"

Bella shrugged again, smiling over at Max. "No, we're both very carefully not talking about it. Which is ridiculous, since I'm supposed to be leaving in 2 weeks, but…it's like we're both afraid to break the peace, because we don't know what we'll find on the other side."

"You can't keep putting this off," Max warned her. "I have to give Jake credit for not hog tying you to the bed and telling you not to go, but the longer you leave this hanging in limbo the harder it's going to be for both of you. You need to just decide whether you're going or not, tell Jake and find a way to live with it."

"I know, I just…" Bella trailed off when Carlisle walked into the room.

"Max, I need those…" He stopped, frowning. "Was someone here?"

"Yeah, you just missed Edward and Helene. His fiancée," I supplemented at Carlisle's blank look. That was odd. You'd think Edward would have mentioned the name of the woman he was dating.

"Interesting." He looked around the room again, his eyes scanning for…something, I wasn't sure what. "Max, I need you for a few minutes."

Max grinned devilishly, wagging her eyebrows. "Sorry Dr. C, but I demand more than a few minutes from my men. You're going to have to make me a better offer if you think I'm getting out of this chair, because my feet are killing me."

For a moment I wished, desperately, that Carlisle was human, just so I could have seen the blush that would have gone with the embarrassment that flashed across his face. He struggled for words for a minute, gaping like a fish out of water, and Max took pity on him.

"All right, fine, I'm coming." She pulled herself out of the chair with a groan and headed for the door. "Whatever you have in mind, there'd better be a hot bath at the end of it."

"Ah…hmmm." Carlisle wisely remained silent, shaking his head before following her down the hall and back toward the clinic and the lab that was likely their final destination. I felt a pang of guilt that they were down there working while I sat here and relaxed, then brushed it off. They were both better at the lab work than I was, and I knew they'd take it out of me when our next round of patients came in. Beside me, Bella snickered.

"I know it's horribly, horribly wrong of me, but I love watching her start in on him. He's always been so stuffy."

It took me a second, then I realized she was talking about Max and Carlisle.

"He has his moments, but you're right. He does tend to forget he's not living in the 18th century anymore. He needs someone to shake him up every now and then."

"How long do you think it'll be before someone comes by and sweeps our oh-so-pragmatic Max off her feet?"

Okay, I hadn't seen that one coming.

"I have no idea. Knowing Max, she'd probably weight herself down before she'd let him try. Why?" I looked at her suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

"No…but it occurs to me that we came back with several cars full of available men, and we've got our own fair share here, and I've never seen her look twice at any of them. You don't think she actually meant it when she said she was becoming a lesbian, do you?"

I had to laugh at that.

"While I don't doubt Max probably would swing both ways if the right person appealed to her, to the best of my knowledge she still has as fine an appreciation for the male species as the rest of us."

"Hmmm." She looked over at me knowingly. "Speaking of a fine appreciation for the male species, what's going on with you and David?"

"Me and David?" I tried to look innocent, then gave up. There was no point. "We had a thing a really, really long time ago, and when I saw him at the wedding…well, I won't say everything just clicked into place, but I did remember what it was I'd seen in him way back then. And he's made it more than clear he's interested and available if I want to pick up where we left off."

"You think you're going to give it another try now that you and Quil…" She broke off, a horrified look on her face.

"Now that Quil's imprinted, you mean?" I smiled wryly. "You can say it, Bella. Pretending it didn't happen isn't going to change anything. As for me and David…" I remembered the soft feel of his lips on mine, the thrill of his fingers tracing up and down my back. "…I don't know. I just don't know."


	18. Chapter 18

**Quil**

The earth shook under the thundering paws that raced across the reservation, noses to the wind, minds moving in tandem while we tracked the faint hints of fresh scent on the breeze. It was an incredible sight, dozens of wolves and their smaller canid cousins, the coyotes, racing low to the ground while the cats swung through the trees, staying close together to avoid laying a false trail and giving our prey the chance to get away. The pack had been gone for at least three days. The trail we were following was less than 24 hours old, which meant we had our rogues. All we had to do now was run them to ground.

Whatever they were, they were crafty, they were intelligent, and they had known we were coming. They'd hunted together, laying false trails all over the reservation before lying in wait behind Paul's house, skulking in the trees until he and Rachel had gotten out of the car, then attacking simultaneously to bring down their prey. Then they'd just disappeared, taking their tracks and their scent with them. We'd probably still be hunting for the fresh trail if it hadn't been for Jasper, whom sheer blind luck had guided to fresh tracks miles from where we were searching. Until we got to Paul's we'd all assumed it was simple bad luck. They were the first ones home, and the rogues were hungry. But these _things_ had hunted like serial killers, not animals, stalking their prey, prepping the area, then lying in wait for them to return. They hadn't wanted just anybody. This attack had been planned, organized and executed with ruthless precision. The question was, why?

'Up ahead. Lay low.'

The order came back and we immediately hit the ground, silent predators scenting the air as we slunk toward a small clearing. Hackles raised, my heart was pounding. Now that we weren't running, I smelled it too. Under the thick scent of pack and the strange and unfamiliar smell of the cats that had joined our hunting party was the unmistakable smell of death, blended in with the sweet smell of blood and gore drifting on the cool breeze. Before we even broke through the trees, I knew we were too late.

Our rogues may have hunted like humans, but they killed like animals. If it wasn't for their scent I would have never known the remains on the ground were human, much less the little boy and girl I'd bounced on my shoulders just the day before. Whatever had attacked them had been savage, sinking teeth into flesh, ripping limbs and tearing into tender bellies. Blood lay thick and red on the grass, staining the forest floor, and intestines mixed with indistinguishable soft tissue stood as testament to a death that had been brutal but, I hoped, mercifully quick.

'Jesus Christ, it slaughtered them."

Horror and disbelief, and no small amount of disgust, accompanied the words from the unfamiliar gray wolf next to me, who stared for another minute before bolting into the undergrowth. The sound of his gagging turned my own stomach and I closed my eyes, trotting upwind to breathe deeply.

'Thank God Paul wasn't here to see this.'

Jake and Sam were standing next to me, trying as hard as I was to distance themselves from what we'd just seen. I'd thought nothing could ever touch the slick, greasy sickness I felt seeing the way claws and teeth had torn into Sam and Lara's soft, fragile little bodies, but those attacks hadn't even scratched the surface of what these killers were capable of. They had been playing with them. They had been playing with all of us. No animal hunted like that. The question is, why change its M.O. now?

'Because of Sam.'

Sam's voice carried acres of fury and regret.

'What does Sam have to do with this?'

'He didn't die.'

'What does that…holy shit.'

The implications were chilling, and if Sam was right we had a bigger problem than a random pair of rogues on our hands. We had a serial killer prowling the reservation, one that had been willing to keep its attacks swift and silent, inflict just enough damage and then walk away, forcing us to watch the cubs die, hoping our panic would drive us to scatter. But we hadn't scattered, and Sam had survived, and now they weren't taking any chances. They were hunting the children, not to feed like we'd thought, but for the sole purpose of making sure they were dead.

And if the viciousness of their attack on the twins meant anything, they were pissed.

'That's what I'm thinking too.'

Jake's voice was grim, and I knew he and Sam were thinking about their own children, their own families. They were together at the Cullens', an easy mark for a predator like this one that knew how to mask its scent and could slip, unseen and unheard, into our own backyard. Sam closed his eyes, talking to Eli on some private channel of their own, then lifting his snout to the wind to call together the pack. Seconds later we were tearing through the trees, paws flying, completely focused on getting back to the rambling house at the edge of the woods that was the only thing standing between us and the dozens of bodies these abominations would leave behind.

My ears pricked. A faint crunching sound drifted out of the trees to our left as we ran, the only warning we got before the shadows separated and melted out of the forest. One of them slammed straight into a puma, who dropped out of the trees and rolled out of sight, deep yowls filling the air. The other shadow, which wasn't so much shadow as it was a snarling wall of fur and claws, leapt onto my back, fangs digging deeply into my shoulder and ripping down my spine before Jake hit it full on, slamming it into a tree and, as it lay dazed for the briefest of moments, giving us our first look at the creature that had haunted our nightmares since its first strike on the shores of La Push.

It was...hideous. Its hide was a spotted, mottled gold, with muscular shoulders and haunches rippling as it backed, hissing and spitting, away from Jacob. The cat's face was distorted by long, straight, pointed fangs that would have done Dracula proud, each fang dripping lethal venom into the ground like a snake. It reached out with one paw, swiped at Jacob with sharp, curved claws, then just…disappeared.

'Was that what I think that was?'

'Mother fucking vampire cat!'

'Where the hell did it go?'

'Mother fucking vampire cat!'

'Did you see where it went?'

'Mother fucking…'

'Vampire cat. We get it.'

I would have laughed at the irony of a pack of preternatural lupines being outwitted by a vampire feline (tell me that didn't have a ring to it) but the pain in my back and shoulders where the damned thing's teeth had torn through muscle and bone, snapping tendons and vertebrae along the way, was unbearable. I sank to the ground with a whimper that I would be ashamed of later. Years ago Jake had taken a hit like this, shaken it off and gone after the vamp that gave it to him, but feeling the acid flowing through my veins, eating at my muscles and causing uncontrollable tremors to shoot down my legs until they spasmed unnaturally, I didn't know how. My vision greyed, distorted, then blacked out right before my head hit the dirt.

Time didn't exist while I laid there, the voices of the pack rolling through my head, a mixture of panic and reassurance and the occasional inappropriate remark from Embry, just to keep things interesting. If this was hell I supposed I'd deserved it, but couldn't they turn down the freaking noise? It was drifting now, becoming harder to understand, washed away by rage and a strange, almost incomprehensible madness that some part of me recognized as the venom eating away at the neural pathways of my brain. The last clear thought I had before a cool hand stroked down my fur and I finally, mercifully blacked out was that after all the things that had threatened to kill me, I'd been taken down by a freaking cat. Jake was never going to let me live this down.

Beeping. Did hell have beepers? Considering the deep, committed and long-standing hate-hate relationship I shared with my alarm clock, it wouldn't surprise me. Groaning, I cracked open an eye, then snapped it shut again. Damn that hurt. Apparently hell came with spotlights. Either that or somebody had flambéd my retinas while I was asleep.

"Quil? Can you hear me?"

Bits and pieces started floating back to me. Pain. Indescribable pain, like someone had ripped out my insides and filled them with battery acid. A cool hand, a soft voice, then the sweet heaven of oblivion. The light disappeared, but the voice was still speaking.

"Quil? I know you're in pain, but I need to know if you can hear me."

Pain? No, I realized suddenly, there was no pain. Only a strange euphoria and the feeling of being somehow distant, separate, from everything around me. It was as though I was floating, there but not there, and as long as I didn't open my eyes that wonderful feeling was going to last. Unfortunately, the voice wasn't finished yet.

"We filled you full of anti-venom and the neutralizer for the toxin, but there's still been some damage. We couldn't…" the voice wobbled, drew in a deep, shaky breath. "We couldn't get to you fast enough. You were there for almost an hour. We need to operate, take out the damaged tissue and give your body a chance to heal."

Cool fingers pressed against my wrist, squeezing lightly, and a head rested softly on my shoulder. The sweet smell of sandalwood drifted up to my nose from the bearer of that soft, barely there touch. Jaz.

"I'm so sorry Quil," she whispered. "We got there as soon as we could, but it wasn't fast enough. We lost Jack…the puma that attacked the other jaguar…and I was so afraid we were going to lose you too."

Tears dripped onto my bare skin, racing down my arm to pool at the wrist, then drop onto the bedspread. Crying. She was crying because I hadn't been paying attention and she hadn't been fast enough to save me from my own stupidity. Regardless of how good it felt (or how bad I felt) I couldn't let myself wallow in her attention. After what I'd done, it wasn't fair. She needed to save her tears for someone who deserved them.

"Only the good die young, remember?"

It was meant as a joke, said in a harsh, raspy voice that I didn't even recognize as my own. Of course, the damn venom had probably fried my vocal cords, and I'd spend the rest of my life talking like some Steve Perry wannabe. She heard me though, because she laughed, lifting her head from my shoulder.

"If that's the case, then you'll live forever. Do you remember your name?"

"Elvis. I'm back."

Somehow, the game of 20 questions the docs liked to play to make sure you hadn't gone completely 'round the bend never got old. To them, anyway. For me it was painful, tedious and, in my expert opinion, a complete waste of time since she already knew everything about me anyway. It's not like anything I told her was going to be news.

Then I remembered Paul was here too and reached out, grabbing her arm.

"Has anybody told Paul and Rachel?"

The silence dragged on so long that I risked opening my eyes, just to make sure she was still there. Sure enough, there she stood, red hair burning in the sunlight, eyes creased and waterlogged with worry and something else, something indefinable that I didn't have the energy to figure out at the moment. The morphine she'd doped me up with was starting to wear off. My stomach burned like an ulcer on steroids and my throat…well, it didn't bear thinking about. But pain in the ass or not, Paul was family. I needed to know if he'd been told and, if he had, if he was hanging in there the way Jared had or if he was going to go off the deep end.

"He knows," she said finally. "Jacob's with them right now."

Jesus, what was Sam thinking? Jacob was going to be just as broken up about this as Paul and Rachel. They were his niece and nephew, and unlike his sister and her husband he'd had to see what was left of them. Jake being Jake, I knew he was beating himself up about it. If we'd gotten there sooner, if we'd been more prepared, if we'd talked Paul into staying another night, if, if, if. Groaning, I rolled my feet off the table and stood up, only to collapse like a wet noodle when my legs gave out under me.

"Whoa, slugger, where are you going?" Using her doctor voice, which was really annoying when she wasn't naked, Jaz slipped her arm under mine, helping me up and guiding me back to the bed.

"Gotta find Jake. Can't leave him alone with Paul. Cruel and unusual's illegal in this state, remember?"

Laughing, she reached down to take my pulse again.

"Your heart's in the right place, but you've got a date with an OR, remember? You don't want to break her heart." She held up her hand. "After that, once you've had a couple of hours to heal we'll pop you in a wheelchair and take you to Jake."

Gasping for air, I glared at her. Weak as a puppy and getting pushed around by a girl. Damn it.

"And if I say no?"

She arched her eyebrows.

"I'll knock your ass out, operate on you anyway, and rearrange a few organs just for the hell of it."

"You would not."

"Try me." Her lips curved. "Dogs have to be neutered if they're going to be running around unsupervised. It's the law."

That spawned a quick and purely male cringe that made her laugh. I laughed along with her, but I wasn't entirely sure she wasn't serious. I was, however, absolutely certain she wasn't getting that scalpel within 100 yards of my balls.

"Hey, Jaz, OR's ready to…" Max stopped, smiled. "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour. Welcome back to the land of the living." She looked over at Jaz. "The OR's ready to roll whenever you are."

"Thanks."

I frowned at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be back in Seattle?"

"Dr. C pulled some strings, told them we had a crisis down here. They gave me a week."

"Ah."

At that point I was completely out of things to say, so I did what any sensible man would do when confronted by two women with big knives, bigger needles and expectant expressions. I shut up, laid down and let them do whatever they wanted to do.

When I woke up again it was pitch black outside, and while I still hurt like all holy hell it wasn't the excruciating misery I'd felt before. A smell that was rapidly becoming incredibly familiar drifted up to my nose and, reaching down, I lightly ran my thumb over the back of the hand lying on the edge of the bed, fingers only inches from mine. The hand's sleeping owner snuffled lightly where she was curled up in a chair tucked alongside the bed, black curls resting on a caramel colored arm. Guilt nudged me in the stomach, only to be washed away by joy a second later. I wasn't sure how, or why, but somehow Maria was here right when I needed her. A part of me I hadn't realized was fretting sighed in contentment.

The bed squeaked lightly as I settled deeper onto my pillow, making her jump as though she'd been stung.

"Hey, sorry. I was just readjusting. Go back to sleep," I told her softly, smiling at the foggy look on her face and thrilling at the tingles that ran up my arm when she took my hand and threaded her fingers through mine.

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She leaned down, eyes soft, brushing her lips over mine while the soft, cool fingers of her other hand gently stroked my hair. "How are you feeling?"

Hmmmm. That was actually a good question. Pausing to take stock for a moment, I shrugged.

"A little sore, but not horrible. I'll be up and running in no time."

"Men. Always in such a hurry to get out of the bed when what they should be doing is appreciating the opportunity to have pretty girls waiting on them hand and foot while they're in it." Sniffing, she tipped her nose in the air playfully, an impish twinkle in her eye. I started to laugh, then hesitated. I'd been waiting for the right moment. Was this it, this quiet cocoon filled with the buzz of the monitors, the hour and the darkness holding the rest of the world at bay?

"Maria…there's something you should know." Taking a deep breath, I plunged forward before I lost my nerve. "When I say I'll be up and running in no time…I mean it."

"I know you do," she soothed. "Don't worry about it."

"No, you don't understand. I mean…I really will be up in no time. It kinda goes with the territory. See," Oh shit, here we go. "I'm a werewolf."

There was a black hole in time, a moment where everything came to a screeching halt, the bottom dropped out and the words hung in the air between us, dangling with both threat and promise. It was too late to take them back, too late to change my mind. Staring at the carefully blank expression on her face the realization that she could decide to walk away chilled me to the bone, making my hands sweat and my stomach tremble. It was as though my heart stopped beating for the seconds I spent waiting for her to speak. I hadn't been afraid when that strange, twisted excuse for a jungle cat had sunk its teeth into me, even when death had been a sour certainty on the back of my tongue, but I was terrified now.

"A werewolf," she said finally. "Like, gets hairy, eats people and howls at the full moon?"

"More like gets hairy whenever he wants and only chases down bad little vampires that want to eat people."

"Vampires." Delivered in such a dull, flat monotone that I flinched.

"Yeah, vampires. Well, bad vampires. I mean, there are some good ones, and we're not allowed to kill them, but when bad vampires come we can chase them, and kill them, and then they can't eat anyone?" I said the last in a question because "Plactate the crazy person" had turned into "Should I go get the doctor and let them know he's flipped his lid?" Then her expression smoothed out and she shrugged.

"You'll show me sometime?"

"Show you?"

"The wolf. You'll show me, yes?"

"Um, sure." I eyed her with the wary suspicion of a man who'd been expecting a lion and discovered he held a kitten in his arms instead. "You're not…freaked out or grossed out or worried I'll use you as a doggie bone in your sleep?"

Maria's mouth turned up in a warm smile that lit up her eyes, transforming them from simple chocolate to a deep, rich, mesmerizing mocha.

"Oh, it's freaky all right. But," her head tipped to the side so the tips of her hair brushed over my skin, sending ripples of heat down my back, "your friend said you should be dead, and here you are. And somehow, I don't think you're kidding. Which means I'll have to believe you."

"Just like that?"

"Belief, trust, faith. That's what you give to people you love, yes?"

Had she said…yes, she'd said she loved me. Even knowing what I was, even if she didn't entirely believe me, she loved me. Or thought she did, which coming on the heels of my confession was enough to relax my tense muscles and allow me to breathe easy. She was going to stay, and she wasn't completely freaked out at the thought of being involved with a wolf. I knew the first time I phased in front of her would put that to the test, but it was a start. Right then, a start was all I was asking for.

"You love me?"

She flushed, looking down at the blue cotton blanket someone had tossed over my chest.

"I think I might. I know it's too soon, and I don't want to freak you out, but…yes, Quil, I think I might."

Reaching over with my other hand (and doing my best to ignore the uncomfortable burning sensation it caused in my chest) I tipped up her chin so I could look into her eyes.

"I think I might love you too."

Smiling shyly, she lowered her lips to mine, and in seconds I was so wrapped up in the sweet promise of that kiss that I barely noticed the flickering shadow slipping past the doorway. Too soon, she pulled away.

"Well…"

"Well." I waggled my eyebrows at her, making her smile again. Then the rest of what she'd said sunk in. "Wait. You said my friend said I wouldn't make it? Who did you talk to?"

"Ahhh…" Nibbling down on her lip in an unconsciously sensual manner that made me want to reach out and take a bite, she frowned. "It was Doctor something. A woman. She called me from your phone, said she was a friend of yours and they weren't sure if you were going to make it."

Jaz. It had to have been Jaz. It would never have occurred to Max to pick up the phone and call my…girlfriend? (It seemed like such a weak word in light of everything that imprinting made her to me, but calling her my imprint felt far too clinical. Destiny? Fate? I'd have to think about that one.)…much less stalk through my cell phone for Maria's number, then take the time to call her and tell her what happened. Bella might have done it, or Emily, but they didn't have an MD. It was just safer that way. Warmth and gratitude mixed with a healthy dose of guilt flowed through me as the timer on the IV next to the bed dinged and another rush of morphine swept through my veins, making my eyelids heavy and my limbs weak. Staring into soft, dark eyes, clutching her fingers tight, I drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Jaz**

Burning. The reservation was burning, acrid smoke stinging my eyes and making tears run down my . I was shouting, running through the woods, calling for someone. Sam? Lara? I didn't know, but my heart was pounding, blood racing. Then a figure stepped out of the trees, the same tall, willowy woman in a red dress I'd seen in my dreams, holding a wolf by a golden chain. Quil.

"You can't save them, you know."

Her voice was soft, low, almost friendly, a gentle smile turning up the corners of her lips, but the flames flickering in her eyes weren't just a reflection of the blaze that surrounded us.

"Can't save who?"

The woman chuckled, tightening her grip on the leash in her hands until the wolf standing next to her whined.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!"

"Am I?" She looked down, her eyes amused, before releasing the chain. "I suppose I am. I'm sorry for that, you know. He's a magnificent animal."

Anger rushed through me. Is that all he was, all these wolves were to her, to the other women she was with? Just animals, magnificent animals, but animals nonetheless, to be used and discarded at their whim?

"He's not an animal. He's a man, a good one. They all are. They don't deserve what you're doing to them."

Laughter echoed through the woods, ringing like the peal of bells against the trees.

"Oh Jazmine, you're such a child. I find your innocence…endearing." Tipping her head to the side, she studied me with warm affection. "We're very much alike, you and I. Willing to sacrifice everything for the men we love. Oh, don't bother trying to deny it," she said when I opened my mouth. "It's written all over your face. Tell me, would you sacrifice yourself if I promised to let him go?"

"Absolutely." There was no hesitation, no doubt.

For a moment her eyes dulled, looking past me at something only she could see, and despite everything my heart ached for the sadness that was written clearly on her face.

"Be very, very careful when you deal with the devil for the ones you love," she murmured, running her fingers absently along the chain in her hand. "Sometimes you get more than you bargained for."

"Was that what happened to you?"

The question slipped out almost of its own volition and her eyes snapped back to mine, the fury in them making me cringe.

"Be careful where you give your heart, little wolf. They never appreciate it. They use you, then they toss you aside when they find someone more _suitable_," she spat. Pain stabbed at me and she smiled, a bitter, angry, twisted expression that looked out of place on the serene beauty of her face.

"Yes, you know how that feels, don't you? Why do you bother with all this? He's not worth it." She nodded to the wolf lying at her feet. "He hurts you over and over again because he sees only what he wants to see, and yet you wept when you thought he was dead."

Wept? No, wept wasn't the right word. Wept didn't even touch the panic and hysteria that willpower had barely managed to hold off when Brady had burst through the clinic doors shouting that Quil had been bitten, or the sickness that had nearly driven me to my knees when I saw the wolf twitching on the ground, eyes rolling blindly, and had known that we might be too late.

"It's already too late. Don't you see?" Handing me the golden chain she stepped back, then disappeared into the smoke. Slowly, stomach heavy with dread, I looked down into Quil's lifeless face.

I jerked upright, my scream dying on my lips, my lungs struggling for air. It was only a dream. It was only a dream. I repeated it over and over as my heart slowed and breathing became easy again. I was still in my room at the Cullens', with the sounds of laughter trailing down the hall and the scent of Esme's cooking floating through the air. There was no smoke, no fire, no strange woman in a red dress. That didn't stop me from leaping out of bed and racing on soft feet to the clinic to make sure Quil was still there and not dead in the woods.

"I think I might love you too."

The words drifted out into the hallway, hundreds of ice picks stabbing into my heart when I looked in his room and saw him tenderly kissing the woman sitting by his bedside. Maria. She was gorgeous, all dark hair and smooth skin, her hands lightly tracing over his face while her lips moved over his. Nausea and insecurity churned through my stomach and I stepped back, walking down the hall and slipping through the doors to the main part of the house. Quil was fine, and anything more than that would be intruding on a private moment I didn't have any right to butt in on.

Calling her had been an impulse. His phone had fallen out of his pants when Jacob brought his clothes down to the clinic, and I had done what I would have done for any patient that came in walking the fine line between life and death. I'd called someone close to them. It had been the right thing to do, but I hadn't counted on how seeing the two of them together for the first time, knowing she was the one who had the right to be there, hearing Quil whisper he loved her, would make me feel. I'd prayed for years to hear those words from him, even though I knew I never would. That he'd said them to her in a matter of weeks…

It was enough to send a girl on a dedicated quest for the pint of Haagan Daaz I knew Bella kept stashed in the back of Esme's freezer.

My fantasies of a cold bowl of ice cream and some peace and quiet for a good sulk flew out the window when Colin literally flew through the kitchen door and landed on his ass in the front hallway, almost hitting me in the process. A second later Paul landed on top of him and the two of them rolled, kicking and punching, down the hallway.

"I swear man, I didn't know!" yelped Colin.

"You think that makes it better?"

Paul planted a vicious fist in his face, his eyes half mad, before Sam stepped out of the kitchen and dragged him off by the scruff of his neck.

"Paul, calm down!"

The words didn't even register with the crazed wolf straining and pulling at Sam's arms, teeth bared, inhuman snarls coming out of his mouth. Sam hauled him, thrashing and fighting, over to the doors and threw him outside, sending him sailing over the steps not a second too soon. Paul phased almost as soon as he hit the ground, Sam only moments behind him, snapping at him until he'd chased him into the trees, where I knew they stayed until Paul was back under control.

"What the hell was that?"

I held a hand out to Colin, who took it and pulled himself gracefully up off the floor. There was nothing like living with a pack of wolves to give a girl an inferiority complex.

"Dude, all I did was grab the wrong cup. He's fucking crazy!" Colin's eyes were wide and wild. "I thought he was going to kill me. "

"He might have."

Jake leaned against the edge of the door, shoulders slumped, weariness and grief leaving haggard lines on his face. Bella walked over and slipped her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest, and he pulled her close.

"You told him."

It was more of a statement than a question. I knew Jake had been heading that way earlier, and I knew what he'd had to do. That didn't stop the clenching in my gut at his weary nod.

"I told him."

"How's Rachel?"

Grimacing, Jacob nodded toward the stairs.

"She's upstairs lying down. She was…hysterical doesn't quite cover it. I thought she was going to hurt herself. Carlisle had to sedate her."

There was nothing I could say here, nothing that would make this any better for him. For any of them. I'd been part of the clean-up crew that had gone back out after we'd gotten Quil stabilized. I'd seen what had happened to those kids, and all I could do was be grateful that, for the moment, Paul hadn't. That would only last as long as it took him to go back out with the pack, at which point he'd have a front row seat for the death and desecration that represented his kids' last minutes on this earth. Nobody deserved that.

"How are you doing?"

Closing his eyes and pressing his head against the doorway, Jacob sighed.

"It's not…real yet, you know? I mean, I just took those kids fishing last week. It doesn't seem possible that they're…that what we found was…"

He choked up, burying his face in Bella's hair while his shoulders shook. Wrapping her arms around him she held on tight, looking at me helplessly. Walking over I held them both, standing there for endless minutes while Jacob sobbed out his pain, his fury and the injustice of having yet another member of his family taken because of someone's stupid, pointless vendetta while silent tears dripped down Bella's face, both of them mourning the loss of the children they'd loved like their own.

"We're going to get them," I murmured, squeezing tightly. "We're going to get them."

Nodding, he sucked in deep, shuddering breaths, lifting his head and swiping at his eyes with one hand while the other firmly anchored Bella to his side.

"We saw them. Or one of them anyway."

My ears perked up.

"What were they?"

He laughed, a wry, bristled sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Nothing we've ever seen before, that's for damn sure. They were like giant jaguars, but they had freaking saber-fangs and these massive claws loaded with venom."

"Vampire cats?" I arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Basically."

Carlisle, who had been walking down the hallway with an arm full of files when Jacob started speaking, froze

"What did you say?"

"I said they were vampire cats."

Carlisle shook his head in denial. "That's impossible," he breathed, eyes wide, papers fluttering from his hands to the floor.

"Yeah, that's what I would have said yesterday too, but…"

"No, you don't understand." Faster than I could blink Carlisle had moved, reaching out and grabbing his shoulders. His eyes were as wild as Paul's had been only moments before. It was so rare to see Carlisle lose that careful composure of his that all we could do was stare. "Jacob, this is very, very important. Have any members of your pack been acting…unusual lately? Unexplained absences, fits of temper, mental instability, excessive dreaminess. Depression, anxiety, _anything_ out of the ordinary?"

Frowning, Jake reached up and gently pried his hands off of his shoulders. "Not really. I mean, the medicine man at Leah's wedding said something had been screwing with Embry's bonds, but…"

Carlisle had been a young man when he was turned, destined to be forever 23, but at Jacob's words I watched him age before my eyes.

"Mio Dio," he muttered, "Di ritorno."

"What?"

"He said it's back," murmured Bella, and even through my surprise I couldn't quite stop the quick, flickering grin. Someone had been boning up on her Italian. "What's back, Carlisle?"

"Has anyone in your pack started seeing someone new? Someone you don't know, someone you've never met before."

Frowning, Jacob stared back at the kitchen, where members of both tribes were raucously joking and eating their way through what had to be gallons of Esme's beef stew.

"A handful of the younger ones have girlfriends I haven't met yet, and there's whoever Embry's seeing, but otherwise no."

"Embry's seeing someone?" Carlisle's eyebrows arched in surprise. "I thought he and Andy were…"

"They are." The dark voice promised pain and retribution when he got his hands on his wayward "brother in law" without Sam there to break up the fight. Oh yeah, I'd heard about what happened in the garage. Emily had filled me in. Jake had gone crazy trying to rip Embry apart, and it had taken some fancy footwork on Sam's part to get everyone out of there alive.

"Keep an eye on this girl. Keep a very, very close eye on her," warned Carlisle grimly.

"Why?"

He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth, then shook his head.

"Just be careful, please Jacob. You have no idea what you're dealing with here."

"I would if you'd tell me," he growled, irritation flaring in his eyes.

Carlisle turned to me.

"Will you come with me to check on Quil? There were a couple of things I wanted to discuss with you."

"Really? You're just going to walk off and leave us hanging?"

Jake's eyes were blazing, his spine stiff, the grief of the day melting into aggression. Sometimes anger worked just as well as tears to let off some of the pressure. Carlisle sighed.

"Let me be sure before I start pointing fingers please."

Eyes narrowed, Jacob studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. But don't take too long. If anyone else dies because you wouldn't tell us what was going on, it's on you."

"Fair enough," the vampire echoed, but I had the feeling he didn't really hear him. His eyes were miles away.

A second later he was gone.

"Well." I stared after him, then looked over at Bella and Jake, confused. "Did anyone else hear him say he wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah." Jake frowned down the hallway. "That was…weird. It's not like Carlisle to…okay, so it's exactly like Carlisle to hold back information until he thinks we need it, but not like that."

"You know what, I'm going to go find him, then go check on Quil." I smiled fleetingly at the sympathy in Bella's expression.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked softly. Of course she knew Maria was here. The whole pack probably knew by now.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. I need to get used to it sooner or later, right?" Shrugging, giving Jacob's hand one last squeeze, I started off down the hallway after Carlisle.

Where does a vampire hide when he doesn't want to be found? I had no freaking clue. If I did I wouldn't still be wandering the halls of that house an hour later. It seemed like everyone was fighting with someone tonight. Ah well. Shapeshifters were aggressive. They were cranky. They were short-tempered, and there were dozens of them crammed into this house. This was all natural, right?

Carlisle's words still rang in my head.

Since Carlisle had disappeared (and you could have dropped an atomic bomb on Max and she wouldn't have moved) I did a quick lap through the clinic to make sure everything was stocked and put away, then walked down the hall. My steps got slower the closer I got to Quil's door. I really, really, really didn't want to go in there. I really didn't have a choice.

Pasting a smile on my face, I stepped through the door. Maria glanced up and smiled, putting a finger to her lips.

"He just fell back to sleep," she murmured.

Nodding (keep it professional, Jaz, do your job and get out) I walked over, changed the bag on his morphine drip, checked the timer, then reached down to take his pulse.

"How's he been doing?" The question sent another wash of pain through me. I'd always been the one to sit at his bedside when he'd been brought in after one scrape or another, on both a personal and professional level. That I had to ask a complete stranger how my best friend was feeling because she had the right to be there and I didn't stung.

"He was in a great deal of pain before he went to sleep."

Eyes wide and sincere, she gave me the look I'd seen on hundreds of faces in the past. The one that begged me to snap my fingers and make it better. I felt myself softening, just a little. She obviously cared about Quil.

"The morphine should help with that, although he may still be uncomfortable when it's almost time for his next dose. I don't dare increase it much more if I don't have to though. He's already getting almost three times the recommended dose for his weight, since his body burns it off so fast. If it gets too bad, come let us know."

"Thank you." She nodded, smiled, then turned back to Quil. Chatty, wasn't she? I tried not to be upset that she hadn't bothered to thank me for picking up the phone and calling her as I walked back to the door. She didn't have a clue who I was, and even if she did it wouldn't mean anything to her other than I was a doctor that had been kind. There was no way she could have known just how much I wanted to hate her right then.

"I'm sorry Jazmine, that was unforgivably rude. I was distracted. I needed to talk to you about…"

Carlisle's voice trailed off when he saw the woman sitting in the uncomfortable chair by Quil's bed.

"Who's that?" he murmured.

"That's Maria."

"Quil's imprint?"

I nodded, looking at her, then back at Carlisle, who was blatantly staring. What on earth? I know she was pretty, but c'mon. She wasn't that pretty. All right, maybe she was, but still. What was it about her that had all of the men around me slobbering like dogs?

My mouth dropped open when he pushed past me to step softly into the room, hands in his pockets, a look on his face I'd never seen before.

"Hello Natalya."


	20. Chapter 20

**Quil**

Yes, it was cowardly, but pretending to be asleep was definitely the better part of valor with Jaz and Maria in the same room. Until that moment I'd been dying for Jaz to meet her, but now that the moment was here I took the chicken's way out and clung to the last strains of my drug-induced sleep while the voices ebbed and flowed around me.

Until I heard Dr. Fang.

"Hello Natalya."

Natalya? Who the hell was Natalya? And why was she in my room? That little voice in my head that I usually ignored purely on principle was nudging at me, telling me this was important and I needed to pay attention. With all the freaky shit that was going on around here lately, the last thing I needed to do was get caught by some strange woman with my pants down. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Or maybe not. Where the hell _were _my pants?

Tugging the blanket up a little closer to my chin I fought to get my eyelids open so I could see this Natalya person, but the only people in the room were Maria, who was still sitting next to me, Dr. Fang and Jaz, who was lingering by the doorway. Looking over at the woman next to me I opened my mouth-then closed it again. She was staring at Carlisle, vulnerability and disbelief written across her face and stars in her eyes. There was no other way to describe it. Suddenly I had a very, very bad feeling about this.

"Carlisle," she breathed, brushing her hands on her lap and standing up. "I wasn't sure you'd recognize me after all these years."

"Three centuries isn't nearly long enough to wash the memory of your scent from my mind, no matter how you disguise it with those powders and perfumes you have on." Carlisle stepped forward, reaching for her hands. "You can't possibly believe I'd forgotten you. Although," he tipped his head to the side, studying her intently, "I seem to remember you being taller. And I miss those blond ringlets you used to wear."

"Well, it's good to know some things never change," she said with a laugh, a pretty blush staining her cheeks. "You're still stuck in the 17th century. But I suppose I can be accommodating."

Her shape blurred around the edges, the way ours did when we phased. Shapeshifter? What happened next had me sitting up in bed, completely oblivious to the pain ripping across the healing bones and tendons in my back. While our transformations were abrupt and painful hers was fluid, rippling from her toes as she grew several inches, her skin lightening and her Hispanic features melting into pale skin, sky blue eyes, a patrician nose and yes, blond ringlets, complete with a bright smile directed at Carlisle, who looked like he'd been sucker punched.

"Oh my god," breathed Jaz from the doorway. "It's you. It's been you the whole time."

Wait. She knew what was going on? I didn't have a damn clue. I opened my mouth, then shut it again. No one was paying attention to me, and just then it seemed like that might be for the best. Natalya (I couldn't think of her as Maria) smiled over at her.

"Yes little wolf, I thought you might recognize me. I was a little disappointed you didn't know me earlier…but then, you're only human. Allowances have to be made."

"Who are you?"

Carlisle lifted her hands to his lips, eyes burning with a fire I'd never seen from the level-headed vampire before.

"This is Natalya," he said softly, his voice caressing each syllable of her name as if it was a precious jewel. "We knew each other well once, a very, very long time ago."

"Has it really been centuries? It seems like yesterday."

Natalya leaned forward, brushing his lips with hers, and his eyes closed. Eyes meeting, Jaz and I looked at each other in perfect understanding. A woman that could transform into another woman? Carlisle, the most happily married vampire I knew, kissing her and actually seeming _happy _about it? Had we stepped into the Twilight Zone? What the hell was going on here?

"I think," I said slowly, reluctant to ask, and even more reluctant to hear the answer, "that a better question would be _what_ are you?"

The woman still holding Carlisle's hands laughed, a soft, tinkling sound that reminded me of…bells?

"I am nothing," she said with amusement. "My bloodlines are, shall we say, diverse? My father was a djinn, my mother was a succubus, and that makes me…"

"Trouble," finished Carlisle with a smile. "Pure, unadulterated trouble." He pulled her in for a tight hug and her eyes closed, resting her head on his shoulder and tucking her nose in under his chin. "Oh, I have missed you."

Seriously? I had imprinted on a _succubus_? I wasn't sure if that was the worst thing or the coolest thing I'd ever heard.

"I didn't think djinn and succubi were…" Jaz trailed off when Natalya opened her eyes. "Right. I live with vampires and werewolves. I practice magic on a regular basis. You would think I'd be too old by now to believe that a story is _ever_ just a story."

"If it makes you feel any better little one, there aren't many of us," she offered. "My father's family is one of the few families of djinn left, and the succubi…" Her face darkened. "Let's just say I'm probably the only one you'll ever see."

"Well now, who's this?"

Esme bustled into the room with a smile and a tray full of food. Setting the tray on the table near my bed, she turned to Natalya, seemingly unphased at finding another woman in her husband's arms. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was far too wrapped up in finding out I wasn't the only one who had been keeping secrets in this strange relationship of mine to pay any attention to…ohhhh, was that fried chicken? Focus, Quil. Focus.

"I'm Esme," she said, holding out her hand. "And you are…?"

Slowly, Natalya peeled herself away from an obviously uncomfortable Carlisle, stepping back to circle Esme like a predator circles its next kill. The room was silent, except for the oddly cat-like motion of her body. Esme looked at her husband, eyebrows raised, but when he didn't say anything she just held still and let Natalya look her fill.

"_This_ is the woman you chose to spend eternity with?" she spat. I was astonished at the change on her face when she turned, the calm joy and serenity I'd seen when Carlisle walked into the room giving way to rage, bitterness and a deep-rooted pain. Wait…were those really flames dancing in her eyes? No fucking way.

"This is Esme, my wife," said Carlisle calmly, smiling encouragingly at the pretty brunette, wariness beginning to nudge the bedazzlement out of his own expression. Natalya stared at her, then turned to Carlisle.

"_She's_ the reason you left me?"

"Yes, I admit, the _idea_ of her is why I left you, but Esme herself never had anything to do with what was between us."

He was speaking quickly now, and looking into his eyes I realized that Carlisle was afraid. Very, very afraid. So, he and the succubus had had a thing. Sounded like it hadn't ended well…and I had to admit, I was a little creeped out to think that Carlisle had been with her before me. Oh god. She'd been _alive_ long enough for Carlisle to have been with her before me, before Esme, which meant she was…

"I'm 467 years old, Quil, before you hurt yourself trying to do the math." She looked over at me, annoyance tempered with easy affection in her eyes. "I can practically hear you thinking over here. I do believe you could call me a cougar, yes?"

"Something like that." Flicking my eyes to the door to see what Jaz thought of this strange turn of events, I realized she wasn't there. Good. Hopefully she'd gone to get help, or at the very least get well out of the line of fire. I had a feeling we were going to redefine collateral damage before this day was through. I'd said more than once that there was more to Maria than met the eye. I just didn't know _this_ was what I'd meant.

"Your little wolf is downstairs right now, filling her alpha in on what's going on. In a moment they're going to come charging upstairs in the hopes of saving this one, but alas, they're going to be too late."

With a light, merry laugh that sent chills racing down my spine she tipped her head, gave Esme a playful wink, then snapped her fingers. Flames exploded from the floor, and a blink later the woman we'd all grown to love like a mother was nothing but a pile of ash.

"No!" Carlisle fell to his knees beside what remained of his wife, disbelief, fury and heartache warring for supremacy on his face, blue eyes snapping against his pale skin. "Why?" he snarled up at the woman standing over him, a smug smile on her lips. "Damn it, why? She had nothing to do with any of this, with us. Ever. And I was never anything less than honest with you Natalya. You know that."

Footsteps pounded down the hall, and a moment later Sam and Jake exploded into the room, followed closely by Jaz and the rest of the Cullens. Bella and Emily weren't with them, and I was grateful. The last thing we needed was more humans for her to use as cannon fodder.

"Honesty," she scoffed. "What do I care for your honesty, Carlisle? I gave up everything for you, _everything_, and you walked away without looking back the moment you were free."

"A deal with the devil." Jaz stepped into the room, her gaze flicking to the pile of ash on the floor before looking up at Natalya, eyes dripping with compassion, and curiosity, the disgust and anger carefully tamped down under the surface-and how sad was it that I knew that, just by looking at her? "You said you made a deal with the devil for someone you loved. It was for Carlisle, wasn't it? And you got more than you bargained for."

"Yes." Her eyes flickered with pain, the flames dying down so that for a brief moment she was nothing more than a lovely, heartbroken woman confronting her ex-lover…300 years later. That was a lot of time for a woman to work up a mad. "Yes, I made a deal with the devil, and I found out too late that the devil doesn't play fair."

"I never asked you to give up anything for me. You know that. What are you talking about?"

Natalya looked down at the man kneeling at her feet, then up at the crowd lingering in the doorway, uncertain whether to come in or give her a wide, careful berth. "He doesn't know what I'm talking about. 300 years, and he still doesn't know. Carlisle, you fool, do you _honestly_ believe anyone walks away from the Volturi?"

"The Volturi? What are you…oh god, no, Natalya, tell me you didn't." He rose, reaching again for her hands, anger and heartbreak washed away on a tidal wave of pain, guilt and regret. "My god, I would never have asked that of you. Never. No matter how badly I wanted to get out of their court I would have cut my own heart out before I let you do that."

"You never asked, and I never told. A life for a life. You know that. Aro was particularly fond of you, and disinclined to let you go." A sardonic smile lifted the corners of her lips. "But to have me under his thumb…well. It seemed like such a small thing, my life for yours, since you already had it anyway. But then you left."

"Carlisle, what's she talking about? Where's…" Emmett saw the pile of dust on the floor and fury lit his face. "You bitch," he snarled, lunging at her. He moved with vampire speed, but she was just a little quicker. In seconds he was surrounded by walls of flames, pinning him in so tightly a twitch of the wrist would send him up in smoke.

"What impetuous children you have, Carlisle," she mused, tipping her head to the side to look at Emmett, who glared at her furiously. "They're nothing like you." She looked over his shoulder, a smile lighting her face. "Except for this one. Edward my dear, I'm so happy to see you." She started walking toward the door, her appearance melting, the beautiful blond replaced by a trim, sophisticated brunette. "I've missed you darling. Where have you been?"

"Helene?"

She lifted her lips to his and the two kissed, deeply. When Edward lifted his face his eyes were glazed, his arms wrapping around her without conscious direction behind it. Fallen under the spell of the succubus. The wolf in me snarled, furious at the sight of _our woman_ locking lips with another man. The jealousy, rage and plain, flat out fury took me by surprise. Of course. No matter what form she was in she was still my imprint, and unlike my human self my wolf had no problem staking his claim. I stepped toward the two of them restlessly and she smiled, slipping back out of his greedy embrace and walking over to wrap herself around me, stealing my mouth for a long, hot, hungry kiss.

"Oh Quil, don't be angry," she murmured. "I really didn't have a choice, you see."

"Brynn, I presume?"

Sam's voice was an unwelcome addition to the conversation, but she turned to him, her eyes lighting up with delight.

"Oh, who's a clever alpha?" she cooed in the baby voice usually reserved for young children and small poodles. "That's right, I'm Brynn too…some days. And I must say, you've done a marvelous job with Embry. I truly enjoyed my time with him…and with you, Quil. I'm going to miss you both horribly after I kill you."

"You're not a killer. You've never been a killer. You don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I do Carlisle. I really, really do." She walked back over to him, reaching out to cup his face. "You see, because of you the Volturi hold my leash. They say jump, I jump. They say seduce a man into surrendering his soul and becoming a part of their army, I…well, there are children present, we don't need to go into that right now. And when the Volturi tell me that your coven and these wolves have become a problem, I have no choice but to step in and do as they ask."

The Volturi. It always came down to the damned Volturi. I thought we'd gotten rid of them, had actually started to relax. Now, it looked like they'd just been biding their time, waiting for the right moment-and the right tool-to strike. Or had they?

"How long have you been planning this?" I asked suspiciously. She smiled, sashaying across the floor to pinch my cheek.

"Do you want to hear the story, Quil?" She puckered her lips. "What a sweet boy you are. Well, if you want to hear the story, I'll tell you the story. My pets-You remember my darling little kittens, don't you Carlisle? They're all grown up now.-my pets have you cut off from the rest of your families, just in case you were thinking about attempting to escape, although they're not going to hurt them unless I tell them to. So we have all the time in the world. Sit back, relax, get comfortable. I said sit!" she barked, lowering her hand like a trainer with a disobedient dog. Immediately we all hit the floor, and the first waves of genuine fear washed over me. Jaz could knock me on my ass, and the amount of power the woman in front of me was putting out made Jaz look like a circus magician.

Perching on the end of my bed, she smiled down at me. "You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"No, please, be my guest," I said dryly. The woman had just burned a vampire to ash with the flick of her fingers. I wasn't about to argue with her over a place to sit, no matter how cold my ass happened to be.

"Let's see." She tapped one scarlet nail against her lips, mouth pursed thoughtfully. "It started about…oh, 5 years ago? 6? The Volturi had been getting bored with me for several decades, you see. Young people these days. They don't need a succubus to lure them into violence or foolish decisions, which left me with plenty of time on my hands. I was working on a novel, did I tell you that?" She looked over at Embry, leaning against the doorway, and he shook his head. "Hmmm. Odd, I thought I had. You'd have been proud of me Carlisle, it was a work of art. I finally found…how did you put it? Something worthwhile to do with my life. Anyway, Marcus and Aro came to me one day and told me that your wolf had killed Caius. I was…impressed, to say the least. Which one of you was that, by the way?"

She sounded like a prim schoolteacher looking out over her class at story time, but the compulsion in her voice swept over all of us. Jacob begrudgingly lifted his chin and she beamed at him.

"Oh, I was so happy. Nasty little rodent. I've despised him for centuries, you did us all a favor with that one. Unfortunately, Aro and Marcus weren't nearly as amused. The way they saw it, without the pack, Carlisle and his little family would be putty in their hands. So they sent me and my pets to wipe out the wolves, leaving you alone and vulnerable.

"Of course, the Volturi have a very, very long memory, and they remember only too well how their compatriots lost the battle the last time they came. Why kill one generation of wolves, just to have another one take its place?" She shrugged. "On the other hand, if they could wipe out the children…well. All the wolves have human mates. They're not going to keep phasing forever. Sooner or later the pack would die out, and the Olympic coven would be theirs for the taking."

"That could take years," Sam pointed out. Natalya smirked.

"When you've lived for centuries, what's a handful of decades in the grand scheme of things? The Volturi can afford to be patient." Then she scowled playfully at Carlisle. "The problem is, you're a resilient bunch. First you managed to save the little boy, then your two wolves, from my pets. They weren't pleased, let me tell you. I'm afraid they took their frustration out on the little bookends. I had to punish them for that, and they weren't happy about it."

"I'm heartbroken." Sam studied her. "But how did you plan to wipe out _all_ of the children? At the risk of pointing out the obvious, there's no shortage of wolves or cubs around here. Were you planning to stick around for the next couple of decades to make sure you caught every single one of them? Were the Volturi really so anxious to get rid of you that they'd force you spend the rest of our lives here, with the man who betrayed you, just to make sure the pack wasn't able to procreate?"

It was a calculated risk on Sam's part. He was hoping to push her buttons hard enough that she'd make a mistake, give us an opportunity, any opportunity, to bring her down. From the way Carlisle flinched, however, I had a feeling this was going to backfire horribly on all of us. Flames, quickly quenched, brewed in Natalya's eyes.

"Dirty pool, alpha. Dirty pool. You're lucky I like you, or I might be forced to make an example of you. But then I wouldn't be able to find out how you liked my little game. How's the head, by the way?"

"My head's…" He stopped, eyeballing her. "You're talking about Emily."

She squealed happily, bouncing on the bed and clapping her hands like a child. "Oh, I knew you were quick. I do like you. It's really too bad I'm not going to be able to keep you. A big, strong wolf by my side…well. Yes, I'm talking about your mate."

"You've been the one messing with the pack bonds."

Looking down to where Carlisle sat on the floor, she winked mischievously.

"Now Carlisle, a girl's got to have her fun. What's the point of being a mischief demon if you can't cause a little trouble every now and then?"

"Is that what you call it? A little trouble?"

Sighing, she stood up and paced restlessly, the smile slipping from her face.

"The mind is a terrible thing to waste, Dr. Cullen. You of all people should know that. Isn't that what you told me all those years ago, teaching me to read and write, opening my eyes to a life beyond having men falling at my feet? You were an excellent teacher."

Carlisle's eyes softened, and even with the cold fury I could still see behind the grudging affection you could practically hear the electricity humming between the two of them.

"You were an excellent pupil."

One of the wolves-one I didn't recognize-shifted, preparing to pounce. A cage of flame popped up around him before he could move, just like the one surrounding Emmett. She hadn't even turned her head.

"Now now, that's not nice. You can't ask to hear the story, then not stick around to hear the ending. It's bad manners."

The woman was mad as a hatter.

"What did you do to Emily?" Sam pulled her attention back to him, and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't you mean what did _you_ do to Emily? Leaving her alone and vulnerable? Being gone for days on end and leaving her home to care for two children that really demand more than you can give?" Tsking sadly, she shook her head. "It's human nature to look for someone to blame so you don't have to blame yourself. All I had to do was give her a little nudge to have her booting you out of the picture." She frowned. "If it's any comfort, you'll be glad to know you do an excellent job of keeping your mate happy most of the time. Really, I was starting to worry an opportunity would never present itself."

"What about the bonds?"

"Oh, were you worried about that?" She shook her head, pouting. "You shouldn't be. Really. Your bonds are solid. There was no touching those. Yours too…Jacob, isn't it? The wolf who killed Caius and stole Isabella out from under the nose of the Volturi. Aro really hates you, you know. Complains about you constantly. I have to say, however, your ties to your mate are solid. It's fortunate for me that Bella is who she is, or I might have been completely out of luck."

Jacob jerked up, only to be slammed back down again.

"What the hell did you do to Bella?"

Studying her nails, she shrugged nonchalantly. "Your mate is ambitious Jacob. And far too smart to spend her life cooped up on the reservation. All I did was water the seeds of discontent and let human nature do the rest."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The woman I'd thought I was in love with only hours before had put my friends through hell. She was the reason Emily had kicked Sam out, and she was the reason Bella was going to leave Jacob and fly off to Italy with Edward. I might not have been exactly human myself, but a guy had to have some standards. Crazy assed demons that fucked with my friends, were willing to commit genocide on an entire species and, if I was understanding what I was hearing, had volunteered to work for the Volturi to buy Carlisle's freedom, then been sent back to wreak havoc because she was still in love with him and, if I knew the way the Volturi were thinking, was a very appropriate punishment for them both for Carlisle's defection? Way outside the lines.

"What about me?"

Embry's voice was soft, misery dripping from each word. Natalya's eyes gentled and she walked over, squatting down to place her hand on his cheek.

"You, I will always regret, but your bonds weren't as solid as the others..too new, not your fault…and severing the bond altogether was the most expedient way to ensure you and your mate didn't, well, mate. And succubi will be succubi." She was still smiling, but there was a hint of regret in her eyes. "No point in being able to manipulate the pack bonds if you can't use it to your advantage every now and then."

"And Esme? Was Esme part of the plan? Something you could use to your advantage?" The words were dark, furious, with the just the barest hint of…tears? Could vampires cry?

Face darkening, Natalya turned to Carlisle.

"Oh no. Esme was pure pleasure, my present to myself for spending three centuries doing Aro's dirty work while you and your new ladylove walked free."

Carlisle opened his mouth, fury flashing across his face, but before he could say anything else a quiet, childish voice drifted in from the hallway.

"Mommy?"

Billy appeared in the doorway, sleepily rubbing his eyes. In his blue footie pajamas, with his cowlick standing on end and his face flushed with sleep, he looked cute enough to have panic crawling through my gut. A slow smile flickered across Natalya's face and, flipping her hand, she walked over to the child.

"Hello, little one. What have we here? Are you looking for your mommy?"

His tiny head bobbed up and down, face scrunched up on the verge of tears.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you come with me? We'll go see if we can find her." She reached down, scooping him up and putting him on her hip. Jake snarled at her, but didn't move. What the hell? I tried to get up and grab the boy from her and found out why they weren't trying to tear her apart, demonic powers or no. I couldn't move. I could speak. I could blink. But I couldn't move. Shit. I thrashed against the invisible binds that held me, panic crawling up my throat.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise? And a lovely ending to a lovely evening, I have to say. All right gentlemen, I'm going to excuse myself now and go play with my little friend here. I'm tired, and I know you are too. And Quil, you really need to get some more sleep. Don't worry Jacob, I promise to bring him back in one piece...ish." She chuckled gleefully, then just…disappeared.

Suddenly I could move and I leapt to my feet, looking around. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Where the hell did she go? She couldn't just…disapparate like that. Could she? The other wolves glanced around, dazed. Then Jake turned from the door.

"Hey, where's Jaz?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Jaz**

Cinnamon and cardamom. The sweet smell of the spices danced on the air, tickling my nose and dragging me back from the dream that had been sucking me under. We'd been standing in the clinic, and there had been a woman with blazing eyes, head bent to Quil's, lips touching his while she slowly drank the life out of him. Maria. No, Natalya. Carlisle. Esme.

Esme!

Jerking up, I looked around the room, wild eyed. Esme. Oh god, Esme. The pain in my heart was excruciating, remembering the shock and surprise on her pretty face while the flames had engulfed her as though she was a rag that had been soaked in kerosene. Insignificant, and completely disposable. It had happened so fast. One second she was there, smiling that sweet, pretty smile of hers, holding out her hand to welcome the ghost from her husband's past. The next she was just…gone.

"Good evening. I was starting to think you were going to sleep the night away."

Glancing over to where the voice was coming from, my eyes widened in surprise. There was the woman in red from my dreams, sitting on a cushion laughing as she made an army of little animals march across the floor toward a giggling Billy. A small elephant stood on its hind legs and trumpeted loudly into the air, making the toddler clap his hands and yell, "Again! Again!"

Where were we? The room we were in was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The walls were hard gray stone hidden behind sumptuous red velour, draping around a wide picture window that welcomed the last strains of daylight to dance across the pillows of all shapes, sizes and colors that covered the hardwood floor. A low-slung table pressed against a far wall was laden with fruits, nuts and a pitcher of something intended to be poured into a trio of silver goblets. The smells that had tantalized my nose when I first woke were coming from a small pillar of incense in the far corner, the music drifting from the walls blending with the aromas to transport the listener from cold, rainy Forks and straight into the heart of the palace of a sheik.

"Children are delightful, aren't they?" Natalya smiled indulgently as she sent the animals marching away, bringing a pout to the little boy's face. "I've always found their exuberance, their willingness to embrace life, absolutely charming. They have none of the illusions that the rest of us do. Can you imagine how much easier life would be if we were able to live without expectations?"

"Yes, I suppose it would be." Huh. Scrubbing my face with my hands, I watched woman and child enjoy each other. "Are you sure it's a good idea to play with your food?"

The pealing of bells filled the room, and I cringed. Damn it, that was a stupid thing to say. If she was having fun with Billy, why the hell couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? The longer she was wrapped up with the little boy, the better the chances were of both of us getting out of here alive. If she hadn't let her pets rip him apart by now, there was a chance she wasn't going to. I certainly wasn't going to start putting ideas in her head.

"One should always play with their food. It builds appreciation, and food should always be appreciated for the nourishment it brings to body and soul." She looked over, amused, just as a small plastic tiger began batting at Billy's bare feet. "But it's not my table manners you're worried about, is it, Jazmine? Don't worry, I mean the boy no harm. They do like them better when they're still breathing."

"They?" Ice crawled through my veins, freezing me from the inside out, when I realized what she was talking about. "The Volturi. You're going to give him to the Volturi."

"Au contraire, mon amie." She set the animals to performing some complicated dance, handed Billy a small bowl of dates from the table behind her that he dug into with a vengeance, then stood, walking over to perch delicately on my makeshift bed. "I plan to trade him to the Volturi. The son of the new alpha? The heir to the throne, as it were? He's their ticket to controlling the pack."

"And your ticket to freedom."

The smile, when it came, was mirthless.

"You may look at me like I'm a monster, Jazmine. It's a look I've seen often enough over the years. One small boy's life is a small price to pay for the lives you'll save when I cut my bonds with the Volturi." Her lips were still curled into a smirk, but her eyes were sad. "I've done terrible things over the years, things you couldn't begin to comprehend for reasons you couldn't begin to understand. I deserve every ounce of the scorn in your eyes, but really, by performing this one last monstrous act I'm doing a favor to you and yours."

"I fail to see how taking your revenge on Carlisle, then handing a little boy over to the tender mercy of the Volturi-who'll certainly try and turn him into a vampire, then kill him when they find out they can't-is doing me a favor."

"Do you know what my name is among the Volturi, Jazmine? To them, I am Justice, the hammer they wield when one of theirs steps out of line."

"But I thought…"

She laughed, a dry, mocking sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"You thought Jane and Alec were their enforcers, right? No doubt you've heard the stories a hundred times a hundred. But they were there to…take care of the light work. To deal with humans and weaker vampires when death came easily. But who do you suppose is the one responsible for bringing down the members of their army when they realize the Volturi aren't what they seem? From me, they cannot run, and they cannot hide, and they will not live." The defiance on her face didn't match the slump of her shoulders. "You already know that I'm centuries old. I've taken so many names and so many forms in my lifetime I don't remember which was given to me at birth. But I'll never forget my father's shame when I confessed to him that I had killed so many, so often that I no longer remembered their faces."

Her father's shame? Wasn't he a demon? Didn't they get off on that sort of thing? I wracked my brain for an explanation and finally stumbled on an article I'd found in National Geographic years and years ago. The djinn were from the Middle East, where a man was expected to remember and honor the faces of those whose lives he took. Apparently, when you passed that number they expected you to stop. I suspected that for the woman in front of me that milestone had been passed a long time ago.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you're going to sacrifice Billy just because you don't want to kill anyone else? That seems a little selfless for someone who set out to slaughter an entire tribe."

I was afraid I'd gone too far when flames flared in her eyes and she rose, fury rolling off her in waves.

"Don't pass judgment on what you cannot _possibly_ understand. Do you know what it's like to have your will taken from you? To watch yourself perform atrocity after atrocity, unable to stop because you aren't the one pulling the strings? I haven't always been this way," she snapped, stepping back as if she couldn't bear to be near me and nearly stepping on Billy in the process. "Carlisle was right. When I first gave myself to the Volturi, I was…different. I had become different. But as he said, I'm a good student, and Aro…well, let's just say he has ways of making sure you learn quickly."

Shuddering, I curled in on myself, unwilling to think too hard about what those "ways" might be. There was a reason the Volturi were feared by vampires that feared nothing else. They were ruthless, merciless, completely lacking a moral compass that would allow them to differentiate the justice they delivered to the deserving from the cruelty the innocent suffered at their hands. Then another thought occurred to me.

"Wait. If you took Billy to trade with the Volturi, what I am doing here? I'm nothing to them."

"And that is precisely the point. You're nothing to them. You're nothing to any of them. You work yourself to the bone to take care of them, and they give you crumbs in return. Your friends have their own lives, and Quil…" Her mouth curled up into a sultry smile. "Well, we know how things stand with you and Quil. Remind me again, how long had the two of you had your little…arrangement before I came along?"

"Nearly five years," I muttered belligerently, unable to mask the pain her words were causing.

"That's right. Five years. Ever since you broke his bonds so he wouldn't follow his precious angel down into the grave. You'd think he'd be a little more grateful. Instead, he tossed you aside the moment his imprint started tugging him in the opposite direction." She shook her head sadly, that smug expression still blazing on her mouth, and suspicion began to tug at the corners of my mind. It was impossible…wasn't it?

"Did you have something to do with Claire's death?"

Eyes dancing with mirth, Natalya remained stubbornly silent for the longest of moments. Fury threatened to boil over. It had been bad enough to believe that Quil had gone through hell because of a freak circumstance, an unfortunate but unavoidable infection by a bacteria that killed even more indiscriminately than the Volturi. But to think that a sweet, innocent child may have been a pawn before we even knew the game was being played…

"Oh don't look at me like that." The amusement was still there, although it was tinged with a bit of…something. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. "I can't swear the Volturi weren't involved in the unfortunate circumstances of Claire's death, although I will say it's unlikely. Some infection or other, wasn't it? An unfortunate side effect of the human condition. But it certainly wasn't me."

Should I believe her? On one hand, she was literally a demon. Death and destruction were her forte. On the other hand, it wasn't like she'd tried to deny any of the trouble she'd caused so far. It didn't make sense, after confessing to _everything_ else, that she would try and deny this…and really, disease wasn't the djinn's particular brand of poison. I decided to let it ride.

"You still haven't told me why I'm here?"

Her eyes lit up, but before she could answer Billy came over, crawling into her lap.

"Sleepy."

"Are you now? Well, we can fix that." Smiling, she reached over, laying him down on a pallet of pillows that looked like the one I was lying on and covering him with a rich, soft blanket. I braced for the inevitable explosion; Billy's opinion of sleep was somewhere up there with his views on potty training, broccoli and having to pick up his toys. Of course, the one time I would have valued one of his bedtime temper tantrums the little traitor closed his eyes and went straight to sleep.

"He's never that good."

Oops. Hadn't meant to let that slip. The demon just laughed, standing up and reaching down a hand to pull me up.

"Succubus, remember? No one ever thought to put an age limit on that sort of thing."

Standing up, I looked down in shock. The practical jeans I'd worn to the clinic had been replaced by a toga style dress of white chiffon, so thin I was pretty sure you'd be able to see through it in a stiff breeze. How long had I been out?

"Do you like it? I created it myself." She actually seemed anxious for my approval. Weird. Great, almighty demon, worried about what a human thought about a piece of cloth?

"It's…nice. How long have I been here?"

"Three days, give or take." Shrugging, Natalya poured us each a glass of thick white liquid from the silver pitcher.

Holy shit. Three days? We'd been here _three days_? The pack would be going apeshit. Bella had to be hysterical. And Carlisle. There were no words for the guilt Carlisle had to be feeling right now. Even though he hadn't been the one to bring either Natalya or the Volturi to our door, he'd still blame himself for the deaths of the past two weeks-including Esme's. We had to get out of here. Which reminded me…

"You still haven't told me what I'm doing here."

Have you ever seen a demon roll its eyes? The irritation, sarcasm and disgust in that simple movement almost made me smile. It was such a _human_ reaction, so completely at odds with what I knew her to be. She was looking at me as though I were a very slow child that couldn't grasp a simple lesson. Since she hadn't told me anything yet I didn't already know, however (except the part where Billy and I had been AWOL for the past 72 hours), I was completely clueless.

"I have a proposition for you."

Oh. Well. That wasn't what I was expecting. An appetizer for her bosses? ("Hey, try this human, she's magically delicious!") Absolutely. But a favor…

"What kind of proposition?"

"The kind that's going to make both of us very, very happy. Sharbat?"

Sniffing the goblet suspiciously, I tipped it up to my lips. Drinking anything she gave me was undoubtedly a bad idea. After all, I had managed to sleep for three days. But she didn't need to poison me to kill me if that was what she had in mind, and after three days in la-la-land my body was firmly letting me know that it didn't appreciate being deprived. The heavily flavored milk tasted like ambrosia.

"I wasn't always a monster, you know." Natalya's eyes had shifted, a dreamy sea green that stared above my head. "Born a demon, yes, designed to suck a man's soul dry until he begs for the oblivion of death because that's the last thing he can do with his free will. For over a century I gloried in the power of it, the potential hidden behind every word, every motion, every promise I broke that brought men begging at my feet. Then, one dark and stormy night, in the middle of an Italian graveyard, standing over my own fresh kill-how very trite is that?-I met a man.

"'Messy,' he said, these amazing amber eyes staring back at me, his face full of life even though I knew his heart didn't beat. 'That's going to be hell to clean up before the polizi arrive.' For the first time in my life I felt ashamed. For the first time in my life I wanted to be a better person-hell, I wanted to be anything but the exemplary demon I had become to feel worthy of the demon who, with those brief words, and the smile that accompanied them, became my everything. When I heard he was a member of the Volturi I was afraid. They're very old, very powerful, and very, very capable of making my life a living hell.

"Carlisle was different. He was a healer, not a killer, and he taught me so many things. But a healer's heart is too soft to stand in Volterra, so he wanted to leave. Aro refused to let him go and I, blinded by love, offered myself in his stead. I'd lived as a demon for over 100 years, after all. Anything they could ask wouldn't break me, but to continue to live that way would have torn him in half."

"So you gave yourself to the Volturi." Damn it, I didn't want to feel sorry for her, or to feel the tugs of gratitude on my heart for what she'd done for the man who meant so much to me. She'd done so much damage, and by her own confession had done much, much worse. But to have voluntarily walked into the arms of the Volturi, knowing they would put her through hell. Well. I don't know if I would have been that strong.

"Gave myself isn't nearly strong enough a word." The ache in her voice as she relived those days tore at my heart. "You don't give yourself to the devil, Jazmine. You sign over your soul, or what's left of it, lock, stock and barrel, and sacrifice the right to make your own decisions ever again. You've heard of Aladdin's genie, haven't you?"

"Yes, of course."

"The genie was based on the djinn. Once you bind us, we're powerless to resist. I had to perform every atrocity they asked of me. I slaughtered so many people in those days that the holocaust looked like Disneyland. Carlisle never knew. I'd had their word on that. Then one day I came to the home we shared and found him waiting by the fire. He told me that he was leaving, that he needed a home, and a family, that he couldn't have with me. He said…" Choking up, she spun blindly to stare out the window. "He said that I would always be a demon at heart, and the man that still lived in his simply couldn't live with that knowledge any longer. Then he walked away. And I've been a monster ever since."

Oh god. To have sacrificed everything, everything you were, any future you might have had, only to have the person you gave it all up for spit on you and turn you aside for being what you were forced to become. Then to spend 300 years knowing they would hate you for what you had to do to survive. No wonder she was whacked. I think I'd have gone a little nutty too.

"And that brings us to my offer." Tears vaporized when she turned back from the window with flames dancing in her eyes. "For 300 years I've waited, and you're the very first one I've found that might have a chance. I want you to break the bonds that tie me to Aro and his henchmen. In exchange, I'll give you your heart's desire."

"What?" I joked, reeling from the magnitude of what she was asking and the fact that she would consider me ally enough to ask me to do it. "A Mercedes, a mansion and better health care for underprivileged children?"

"If you like. They're all well within my power. But I had something a little more…personal in mind." She smiled, an evil, impish smile that made my skin crawl. "I'll give you Quil, lock, stock and barrel, all tied up with a pretty gold bow."

**A/N: Phew! For some reason this chapter was like pulling teeth. Natalya really is a pain in the ass when she wants to be! Tell me, what would you do if you were in Jaz's shoes and our resident djinni in a bottle made you an offer that was too good to refuse? Next up: Quil's POV, where we find out how Carlisle's faring without Esme, how Jake's doing without Billy, and what our favorite wolves won't think of next!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Quil**

The rusty bolt snapped off in my hand, sending the transmission tumbling down onto my inadequately guarded softer parts. They didn't particularly appreciate getting up close and personal with 125 lbs of solid machinery. Cursing, I grabbed the tranny, shoved it back into place and tightened the screw on the other side.

My own fault. I knew better than to yank on the rusty metal like that, but it had felt good to let off some pent-up aggression. Three days. Jaz and Billy had been missing for three…freaking…days, and I was losing my freaking mind. Sam had us running patrols around the clock, looking for any sign of them, and we didn't have jack. No tracks. No scent. No nothing. It was like they just disappeared, and the icy knot wrenching my guts into little tiny pieces wasn't going away.

I hated being helpless. It made me want to eat something. Preferably something that would put up a fight first.

Rolling out from under the chassis I walked (very carefully) to the equipment room to grab another bolt. The desk lamp in Jake's office was still burning. Normally I wouldn't have even noticed, but it was after midnight and he should have gone home a long time ago. If he'd slept at all between tracking and work in the past three days, you couldn't swear it by me. Did I pretend I didn't see him, or did I head upstairs and kick his ass until he went home?

It was a no-brainer. I walked up the stairs and stuck my head in the door.

"Dude, you look like shit."

He ignored me, head bent over the pile of papers he was scribbling on under the lamp's puny, pitiful glow. Poor guy really did look like hell. The circles under his eyes were so dark it looked like someone had popped him one, and the bones on his face were almost skeletal. Emily had been bringing food by the shop since Billy was snatched, hovering over Jake like a mother hen until she got him to eat, but we were wolves and a picnic basket once a day just didn't cut it. He was going to fall out. Which meant that I got to be the jerk of a best friend that bullied him into going home and going to bed first.

"Seriously man, if you don't get your furry butt home right now and get some sleep, Bella's gonna…"

I trailed off when he lifted a finger to his lips and looked pointedly at the couch behind me. Somehow I knew what I was going to find before I even turned around. Yep, there was Bella, curled into a ball on the tiny sofa so her knees hung over the edge, Billy's blanket tucked under her chin, tearstreaked cheeks glistening. She looked as pitiful as Jake did.

"We're gonna find her," I swore softly, careful not to wake her up as I crossed the room to crouch next to the desk. "I swear to God, we're gonna find her, and we're gonna tear out her throat, and we're gonna get him back."

Jacob leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his face with his hands.

"It's been three days, Quil. Three days, and not a goddamned trace. No bodies either, which I guess I should be grateful for, but at this point..." He looked over at me, eyes bleak. "I don't know what the fuck we're going to do if we can't find them."

"Keep looking."

I'd never been more serious about anything in my life. Natalya, or whoever the hell she was, had slaughtered Paul's kids, ripped up Jared's daughter and tried to kill Sam Jr. She'd kidnapped Billy and Jaz, tried to break up Andy and Embry, fucked with Bella and Emily's heads and screwed with the pack bonds. I wanted to kill her, and I hated myself because killing her was the last thing I wanted to do. When I thought about tearing out her throat the agony I felt drove me to my knees. Damn it, I didn't _want_ to feel this way. Stupid imprint. In my weaker moments, I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to look her in the eyes and do what needed to be done.

"I'm sorry."

"What the hell for?"

Stupid mouth, running away before my brain had a chance to catch up with it again. Already knowing Jake wasn't going to let me apologize, I plunged forward anyway.

"She wouldn't have even been at the stupid clinic that night if it wasn't for me. If I hadn't gotten hurt…" Sucking in a deep breath, I finished quickly, "…Billy and Jaz would both be home safe. This is my fault. So if you want to kick the shit out of me and get it over with, go ahead."

"Don't you mean if she hadn't decided to screw with the pack bonds and make you imprint on her? Explain to me how that's your fault and I'll be happy to take you outside and go a couple of rounds. Otherwise, shut up and stop being stupid. There was nothing you could have done. There was nothing any of us could have done, so get your head out of your ass and help me figure out how we're going to find her."

"What if it wasn't because she was screwing with the pack bonds?" There it was. The question that had been eating at me since I found out what she was. What if she hadn't made me imprint on her? What if I'd done it all on my own? Even knowing what she was, knowing what she'd done, I still ached to be with her. What if I was just that horrible of a human being?

"Now you're just being an idiot." Slapping a hand on my shoulder, he pushed up out of the chair. "Save the pity party for when we get them back, and you can ask the bitch yourself." In two long strides he'd crossed the tiny office. Bending down to gently brush Bella's hair out of her face, he murmured, "I'm gonna take her home, then go run a patrol with Sam. Maybe we'll find something this time. You coming?"

We both knew after 72 hours the chances of finding _anything_ were slim, but we had to do something.

"Nah, I'm gonna swing by the Cullens', see if Alice or Edward _saw_ anything. But first I'm gonna call Sam and tell him to kick your ass if you show up before you get some sleep. You look like you're about to drop where you stand. It's not going to help either of them if you're too tired to kill her when we do find her."

The fact that he just nodded, scooped up Bella and walked out of the room without bothering to argue told me how exhausted he really was. Reaching over, I flicked off the lamp, then closed the door. You couldn't blame the guy for being a wreck. Jaz could handle herself-to a point-but Billy was totally helpless. I was trying not to think about what could have happened to both of them in the last 72 hours, but I couldn't get the picture of Jaz, tied to a chair while those _things_ ripped her apart, out of my head.

I just made it to the trash can before I tossed up what was left of my supper.

An hour later the stubborn transmission was reinstalled and the garage was locked up tight for the night. I called Sam, as promised, then hopped in the truck to head over to the Cullens'. There were about a dozen cars parked in front of the clinic when I pulled up. It was…odd, to say the least. We'd been joking for years that Carlisle should start a Bloodsuckers Anonymous group. You know, something like AA for vamps that wanted to take humans off the menu. Hell of a time to follow through.

The front doors were locked up tight. Not that I thought it would do any good if the fanged furballs came back, but you had to applaud the initiative. Instead of ringing the bell I jogged around to the back, easily hopping over the fence that surrounded the backyard. The minute my feet hit the ground something hard came at me like a battering ram, slamming me into the fence hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.

"Jesus man, it's me. Get the hell off."

Emmett eyed me suspiciously.

"How do I know you're not that freak just pretending to be you?"

"Fuck you."

He thought about it for a minute, then grinned, taking his arm away from my throat and punching me in the shoulder hard enough to send me staggering.

"Yep, it's you. That just doesn't trip off the tongue like that for anyone else. What happened, you decide the door was too bourgeoisie for you?"

"It was locked. Figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, get a quick look around."

"Find anything?"

"Nope."

We stared at each other for a minute, in perfect accord. _Something_ should have popped up by now. Looking at Emmett, I realized he didn't look much better than Jake had. I hadn't even known a vampire _could_ look that rough. Shit. I hadn't exactly forgotten about Esme, it was just that…well, I knew she was gone. My priority was to get Jaz and Billy back in one piece. Then we could grieve. But she'd been mother, sister and friend to the Cullen clan for centuries. They had to be taking it hard.

"How are you guys doing?" I asked as we started walking toward the house.

"All right, I guess. As well as can be expected when you've got a bunch of people you don't know taking turns cooking god-awful food in your kitchen because someone just incinerated a member of your family and there wasn't a damn thing you could do about it. I mean, it's not like I was standing _right there_."

The venom in his voice took me by surprise. Didn't take a genius to connect the dots though.

"You're blaming Carlisle."

"Who else?" Emmett laughed bitterly. "He was right there. Didn't stop her. Didn't toss himself in after her. He just let that bitch flambé her, then sat there swapping stories like they were old college pals. He just…he could have done _something_, you know? She wouldn't have even been there if it wasn't for him."

When you have no clue what to say, sometimes your best bet is to just keep your mouth shut and not say anything at all. Not that I had been doing too well with that lately. Truthfully, I had been too busy blaming myself to even think about plopping the blame on Dr. Fang's hard, cold shoulders, but now that I did…nope, I couldn't do it. Wasn't like the poor guy had asked for his ex girlfriend to show up with a chip on her shoulder a mile wide and orders from the head of the legion of the dead to wipe out the entire pack.

In my more lucid moments I knew that if anyone was to blame it was the Volturi, but since I still couldn't help feeling like I shouldered part of that I left it alone. He'd figure it out soon enough.

"How is Dr. Fang?"

Oops. Hadn't meant to let that one slip. Emmett laughed, a single, short bark that didn't sound anything like the raucous chuckles I was used to. It was kind of creepy.

"Don't know, to tell you the truth."

"Don't know?"

"Nah." He shrugged, then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Haven't seen him. He's been holed up in his office ever since she disappeared. Won't see patients unless he has to. Needs to go hunting soon though, so I'm hoping he'll snap out of it. I don't do room service."

We'd been standing in front of the doors talking, and it was impossible to miss the eyes peering around the curtains. With a quick nod, Emmett disappeared into the night, and I walked into the house with all the enthusiasm of a man facing a firing squad.

Everyone quickly dispersed when I stepped into the entryway, some refusing to meet my eyes, some staring at me accusingly-or maybe that was just my imagination. Either way, I was really, really glad to see Alice poke her head out of one of the bedrooms and wave me inside.

"You're late," she announced decisively. "You should have been here exactly one hour ago."

"Thought you couldn't see the wolves?" I asked suspiciously, then winced when her face crumbled. Damn it, what had I said this time?

"I can't. I can't see _anything_. Well, I mean, I see a lot of things, lots of things you really don't want to see, if you know what I mean, and there was this one guy with these furry handcuffs…ah, anyway," she said hurriedly, "what I mean is, I can't see anything important. I have no clue where Billy and Jaz are."

Alice was seeing men in furry handcuffs? Ugh. I didn't even want to think about it. I looked over at Edward.

"How about you? You picking anything up?"

"I'm not a freaking radio antenna, mutt."

He was leaning against the wall, hands stuffed in his pockets. Anyone walking by would think he was just another teenager kicking back, but I could smell the thinly disguised anger over the sickly sweet smell of vampire. Ed was spoiling for a fight.

"What the fuck's your problem?"

Sneering? Really? I knew he was going to be 17 forever, but did that mean he had to act like it?

"It means that you can't keep your smelly, furry hands to yourself. If you could, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

A heartbeat later I was flat on my back, Edward snarling over me.

"I'm talking about Helene, you stupid ball of fuzz."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Rolling him over quickly, I dug a knee into those granite abs (that was going to leave a mark) and pinned his throat to the ground. "You're going to pick a fight _now_ because that crazy bitch seduced me?"

"Bullshit. You did something. You had to have. She would never…"

"The hell she wouldn't. She would. She could. And she did. She's a freaking _succubus_, Eddy boy, and the sooner you realize anything in pants is going to get sucked in like a black hole, the better off we're all going to be."

Ripping his head off would have gone a long way toward making me feel better…and really, nobody would have missed him. At least, nobody who mattered. The wolf in my head was screaming for blood. He was a vampire. He'd insulted us. He was trying to take our mate. (All right, so that last one was definitely more wolf than me. I personally couldn't think of anything better than to stick Dedward with a flame shooting succubus for the rest of eternity.) I think I would have done it too, if Alice hadn't picked that precise moment to remind me she was in the room.

"There is way too much testosterone in here. Quil, don't be an idiot. You don't really want to kill him."

Oh yes, I really, really did. Unfortunately, she wasn't done talking.

"Edward, stop being a jerk. You know Quil would never have gone out with her if he knew she was your freaky shape shifting girlfriend. Now shake and make up."

"Ha ha. Shake. Yeah, I get it. Funny."

Glaring at her I slowly stood up, never taking my eyes off of Edward. Alice wrapped her arm around mine, probably to make sure I didn't decide to rip him to pieces after all.

"Now Edward, say you're sorry."

If looks could kill, Alice would have been blasted to kingdom come. Since he didn't have any other choice if he didn't want Alice on his case for the next millennia, however, he grudgingly muttered, "Sorry," then zipped off down the hall. Alice sighed after him.

"He's upset. We all are." She looked up at me. "He didn't mean it, not really."

"Yes he did. So did I." I was still pissed, but I kept reminding myself it wasn't her fault. Swallowing down my need to pound something (I could always find Emmett and go a few rounds later) I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "How are you holding up?"

If anyone had told me back when I first phased that hugging a vampire would feel like the most natural thing in the world, I'd have called them a filthy fucking liar. But it was Alice, and because it was Alice I gritted my teeth and let her bury her head in my chest.

"I miss her," she murmured. "I miss her so much."

Looking over her head, I saw Rosalie standing in the doorway. The blonde's cool expression gave nothing away. Figuring she'd tell me to go to hell, I opened an arm in invitation. I don't know which of us was more surprised when she actually came over and gave me a hug. Well hell. A gorgeous woman on each arm. There were hundreds of guys who would kill to be in my shoes right then, even if it was just because their mother had been flash fried.

Yes, I'm a pig. I'm a guy. It's hardwired. Fortunately, my brain somehow managed to intercept my mouth before those thoughts transformed into words and came tumbling out.

We could have been standing there for minutes or hours, the two women freezing cold against my overheated skin, all of us clinging to each other trying not to think about what we'd lost, and how much we might still lose before it was all said and done, when a shout echoed down the hall.

"They're back!"


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Once again, I have to apologize for the delay. I'd like to say real life caught up to me, and between scouts, school and the fact that I'm slacking considerably less on my housework now that my parents are here for a couple of weeks it wouldn't be a lie! That's only half the story, however. I couldn't quite get my finger on Jaz or Natalya in this chapter. It was like they were both slipping through my hands, neither really falling into a role that would get them to where they both needed to be. It's only been in the last day or so that this scene really took shape. I'm hoping you'll forgive me, for I love you all so much, and take comfort in the fact that the rest of the story is more or less plotted out and should be bubbling over soon! **

**And now, as always, on with the show…**

**Jaz**

When you've been crazy about a guy for half a decade, you give in to a fantasy or two every now and again. So you'll really have to forgive me if I tell you that the first thing that popped into my mind at Natalya's words was a picture of Quil, hog-tied on my front porch wearing a pair of denim shorts and nothing else (and I do mean _nothing_). And if said mind happened to consider the possibilities presented by the slightly melted chocolate lying on my porch rail. And if I just happened to have a camera on hand for future bliss…well, who could blame me?

Unfortunately, once my obviously sick and delusional brain disconnected from the image of tight abs and bulging pecs and snapped back to reality it realized that what she was talking about had nothing to do with chocolate and everything to do with ruining the rest of my life.

"You're talking about the pack bonds."

"Oh Jaz, you silly girl, of course I'm talking about the pack bonds." She trailed the backs of her fingers down my cheek, skimming nails through my hair and watching it fall. "I've seen how you've suffered. It's in your eyes. You can tell yourself it's over, that you can be happy with this young man from your past-oh yes, I know about that too- but I'll bet thoughts of me wrapped around him in the night have given you some bad moments lately."

The flinch was instinctive, the pain automatic and searing. Damn it. She, of course, noticed both, and smiled knowingly.

"You could make every moment of this misery go away," she murmured, stroking my head now like a small child. "You could have him at your beck and call, tied to you for eternity. You could be his one and only, and I could make it happen. All you have to do is say yes." She pulled back her hand, shrugged. "Really, it's a win-win situation for everyone."

It was cruel, the way she dangled everything I'd ever wanted right at my fingertips. Of course, that was the point of an offer you couldn't refuse, wasn't it?

Denying the inevitable was one thing. The whole time we'd been together I'd deliberately blocked out the fact that we weren't going to have forever together. Sure, I accepted that sooner or later he'd imprint, or he wouldn't imprint he'd stay young while I continued to age. (Like I was ever going to believe that a healthy 20 something's would still find a 40 year old woman in granny panties attractive. This was reality, not some stupid romance novel.) I knew it. I just tried not to think about it.

Denial. Not just a river in Egypt. The problem was, denying the inevitable was one thing. Denying my own heart was something else altogether. I'd like to say I wasn't tempted, I really would, but the truth was temptation was crawling up along my spine and whispering in my ear with a vengeance.

To wake up next to him every morning, and fall asleep with him every night. To share the ups and downs of our lives and, eventually, grow old together while we watched our children and our children's children play on the floor of the home we'd build. To know that he was going to _be there_, no matter what. To know, with absolute certainty, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would be the only woman in his heart, in his bed, for the rest of our lives. That's what she was offering me, and I wanted it. I wanted all of it, more than I wanted to breathe.

But did I want it like this? Did I want to spend the rest of our lives looking into those gorgeous eyes staring down at me with the love and devotion the wolves reserved exclusively for their mates? Well duh, yeah, I wanted it, but somehow I just knew that wanting it and having it knowing I didn't deserve it were two different things. He'd hate me if he ever found out. Knowing, I'd hate myself. God damn it. Why couldn't I just be selfish? Why couldn't I just take what I wanted, just once, and say damn the consequences?

"No."

"No?"

"No."

Crap. No going back now.

"You would give up a future with the man you love?" Her eyebrows arched in genuine surprise. She'd honestly expected me to say yes. Well damn. Damn, damn and double damn. And I was spending way too much time with the pack when curse words made up this much of my vocabulary.

"If I have to trick him into it, it isn't a future. It's a prison sentence."

How do you explain to a demon that a future with someone who only loves you because they don't have any other choice isn't much of a future at all? As I struggled for the words I saw a flicker, an echo of the pain I was feeling, dance across her face, and I realized I didn't have to. Whatever she may have done, however great a monster she might have become, the woman in front of me was already intimately acquainted with that flavor of pain.

"You're a succubus, right? Able to bend men to your will with the flick of your hand?"

"Yeeeeeeees." The answer was so wary, I had to smile. Natalya had obviously spent enough time in our time, in our country, to be afraid when someone stated the obvious.

"Those powers obviously aren't limited to humans. You've had vampires and wolves dancing to your tune since you got here. So why would you spend 300 years mourning the loss of a man you could have used your powers to get back any time you wanted? Why spend three centuries dreaming about finding a way to destroy him, waste the time and effort it took to destroy his mate, when all you had to do was be exactly what you were?"

"Because…"

Her voice trailed off, and I smiled.

"Because if he didn't want you, love you, exactly as you were, you didn't want him at all."

"Because that isn't love, for either of us."

A moment of perfect understanding flared between us as our eyes met, each of us remembering the man we loved who, for so many reasons, we would never have. It was a little creepy that I saw so much of myself in someone I had so many reasons to hate-and how much of her I saw in me.

"Why did you kill Esme?"

I hadn't expected the question to come tumbling out, but now that it was out there I really wanted to know. When it had been Quil with another woman…well, I won't say homicidal thoughts hadn't crossed my mind from time to time, but I couldn't have done it. Not knowing how much it would hurt him to lose her. Natalya had waited 300 years to get her revenge when, in truth, she could have killed Esme and seduced Carlisle anytime she wanted. Why here? Why now?

"I believe the answer to that would have been self-explanatory." Her eyes had cooled defensively, flames flickering to life while that moment of perfect understanding disappeared. "He hurt me. I hurt him. We're even."

"No." Shaking my head I walked over, bending down to pluck a handful of washed grapes from the bowl and pop one in my mouth. What the hell. If she was going to kill me she would have done it by now, and I was starving. "You knew what losing her would do to him. It's painfully obvious you still love him. How could you hurt him like that?"

Standing, I turned around to find Natalya staring out the window, the defensive fury that had been on her face replaced with a curious blankness. No, not blankness, I realized suddenly. Bleak. Her eyes weren't blank, they were bleak, lost in memories of a too-short time that had taken place hundreds of years before I was even born.

"Several years after he left me I slipped away from Aro's watchful eye and tracked him down. They say confession is good for the soul." She glanced over at me, hands folded behind her back, her body perfectly still except for the quirk of her mouth. "The lies, the excuses, had become too heavy to bear. I was prepared to tell him everything, although I've never been certain if I was seeking absolution or simply someone else to help shoulder the blame. I still don't know.

"I found him in Paris, standing on a street corner talking to a very angry boulanger. A young boy clung to his coattails, scrawny, bruised, muddy, underdressed for the harsh winter that gripped the city in its fist. Just another street urchin. There were so many of them in those days, with no laws or provisions to give them a better life. He had been caught stealing from the baker. Carlisle had attempted to placate him, offering to pay for the bread himself, but the man wouldn't be appeased. The boulanger shoved him, trying to force him out of the way so he could get to the boy. He may as well have been shoving a mountain for all the good it did, but I was furious. Before I could intervene, however, a woman stepped out of the shadows."

With a soft huff of air, her shoulders drooped. "For a moment I thought I was seeing an angel. Her eyes were soft with compassion and innocence, her features exquisite and startling against her pale skin. Then she tipped her head to the side and the light from the street torches lit up her face, and I realized she was no more angel than I was. It didn't matter. In spite of what she was, she appeared-untouched. Untainted. And when she walked over to Carlisle, slipped her arm through his and beamed up at him with so much love in her eyes I thought I was going to puke before turning that smile on the bedazzled baker, I felt like…well, in that moment I was less than a cockroach under her shoe."

"So that's why you killed her? Because she was innocent?"

"No. Innocence is gift. I killed her because, until that moment, nothing I had done, nothing I could do, could make me feel like the monster the man I loved believed me to be." Her eyes were haunted now, deep with regret. I couldn't say I understood her choice, but at that moment I understood her. She had made the right choice, had clung to that, had been able to use it to justify her actions, until she was confronted with a woman who had never had a choice to make. Then she shed the melancholy like a second coat, transforming back into the smooth, composed woman who had danced in my dreams.

"Enough. No matter how much I like you, Little Wolf, the past is best left in the past…and your nobility leaves the present and the future very much uncertain. Make no mistake, I have no intention of ever again living under the Volturi's thumb. Now that I have Jacob's son I have the tools to make that happen, by fair means or foul. No matter how much I may regret his death, it will be a necessary means to an end." Another dry laugh, another curious blend of acceptance and self-loathing. "I have committed so many sins over the centuries, another will barely leave a mark on my conscience. Can you say the Billye?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I just said I didn't like your particular flavor of currency."

It was time to yank this train back under control. I'd been thinking while she wandered down memory lane. My mind had been spinning, reeling, with the possibilities ever since she told me I would be able to help her. She was right. By separating her from the Volturi we could deal them a huge blow and, I hoped, rid ourselves of a major problem at the Billye time.

There was nothing here for her once she was no longer obligated to carry out the Volturi's revenge. She had to see that. So I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing what she asked. But she didn't need to know that and, if I could convince her that she owed me and owed me big, Billy and I might both be able to walk out of this mess alive.

"Here's what I'll do. Tell me how, and I'll cut your ties to the Volturi. You'll be free, completely."

"And in return?"

"In return, you take your pets and disappear. Go back to Paris, go back to the Middle East, go to Mars, for all I care, but you disappear. No more killing, no more fear. No more messing with anyone's head. And you let Billy and I go, just as we are, and undo everything you did before you do," I added. "Everyone's bonds back to normal, everyone's relationships back the way they were. And I want Quil healthy and happy again. I don't suppose you can bring back the dead, can you?"

Hey, a girl had to ask.

"No, I'm afraid bringing people back from the dead is beyond even what I can do. Believe me, if I could the Volturi would have taken advantage of that years ago." That, I didn't doubt in the least. "As for the rest of your conditions, I accept."

Smiling, she held out her hand, her eyes dancing like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Shall we?"

"Now?"

I glanced over at the sleeping Billy, who hadn't moved a muscle since she'd laid him down.

"You can think of a better time? Or perhaps you're waiting for someone else to die first?"

It was both challenge and threat. Would I let someone else die while I worked through my own issues, my own fear of what would happen when there was no one holding her leash? The look on her face said it was already far too late. In for a penny…

Reaching out, I placed my hand in hers.

"Let's get this over with."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: To everyone who's yelled at me this week for saying this was almost done, then taking forever to update…blame Quil. Seriously. I had this chapter ready to rock and roll, then he came up and slapped me upside the head. Apparently he's never going to be an emo vampire, and he took offense to feeling like I was making him out to be one. **

**That's our boy. **

****If you haven't seen the Emo Vampire song, take a second to check out The Key of Awesome on YouTube and tune in to "Twilight Sucks-The Emo Vampire Song". Doesn't matter whether you're Team Jacob or Team Edward, it's freaking hilarious!****

**So here's Quil's side of the story. And stay tuned! There's only two chapters left (I think) in which Jake says goodbye to Bella, Carlisle contemplates bidding a fond farewell to everyone (for the rest of eternity), Andy and Embry go their separate ways, Jaz heads south with David…and Quil has to decide what he's going to do about all of it. **

**As always, I love you all, and thanks for reading!**

**Quil**

I tore down the hall after Alice and Rosalie, heart pounding so loud it was a wonder it didn't shake the house off of its foundation. That heart stopped when we burst into the front room and I saw the exhausted, dirty woman staggering through the door, Jake's supporting arm wrapped around her waist while she gripped the little boy in her arms. Her hair was a mess, her face was so covered in grime and goo you couldn't even see the freckles underneath, and her skin was pale as a ghost's.

It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

"Oh my God, Billy!"

Bella bloomed out of the shadows, hand covering her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks. Jaz smiled weakly, bending down to whisper to Billy to look up at his mama. That was all it took. Bella ran across the room, throwing her arms around both of them.

"We thought you were dead," she wept, pressing kisses to Billy's head and squeezing Jaz tight. "_I _thought you were dead." Jaz laughed, leaning her forehead to Billy's soft baby fuzz.

"You really shouldn't have so much faith in me. It's embarrassing."

Her voice was harsh and raspy, as if she'd been sucking in smoke. Smiling, she passed Billy off to Bella. Then her eyes locked on mine from across the room and I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut. There were a thousand questions in the blue eyed gaze that raked me from head to toe, searching anxiously for…something while the seconds ticked by. Finally she murmured something softly to Bella that made her cry and Jake wrap them all in his embrace, tears slipping silently down his face, then carefully extricated herself from the little family and started walking over to me.

Two steps later her knees buckled and her eyes rolled back in her head. Thanking whichever freaky genetic abnormality had given me wolf reflexes I sprang forward, scooped her up and made tracks out of the room before she could hit the floor. I heard the buzz of voices behind us as I stepped out the door.

Carlisle was waiting for us when I got down to the hall to the exam room. Nodding for me to lay her on the bed, he pulled the stethoscope from around his neck and bent to listen to her heart. He checked her over slowly, methodically. Quietly. The silence that hung over the room like a pall stood in sharp contrast to the ruckus echoing out from the front hallway, punctuated by the occasional murmur of the vampire bent over the still body on the bed.

It could have been a Hollywood horror. I was glad this time the vamp was on our side.

Painfully aware that I was in the way, but unwilling to leave, I slipped back into the corner and watched the doctor flick a light into her eyes. When he reached down to start unbuttoning the vest she'd pulled on the last day she disappeared, however, I flushed and ducked out into the hallway. All right, so I'd already seen everything there was to see. And I understood the necessity-there were some things that were worse than death. Didn't mean I needed to stand there and oogle her like a demented teenager while she was unconscious.

"How's she doing?"

Embry's voice made me jump. Crouched on the floor across the hall from the exam room (how the hell had I missed him?) he looked…miserable.

"She's still unconscious." I shrugged, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes. It had been a hell of a day. "Dr Fang's checking her out."

"Ah."

Silence once again hung heavy in the air between us, broken only by the sound of Embry's restless shifting. This wasn't the same productive, contemplative silence that I had stepped into the hallway to escape in the first place, however. This silence was awkward, uncomfortable, and before long the innocent rustle of Embry's clothes crunching and shifting with each movement grated on already raw nerves until I couldn't take it anymore.

"What?"

He jumped this time. Understandable since I'd all but spat the word at him…but jeez, couldn't he give a guy a little peace?

"It's just…how do you feel?"

"How do I feel? What are you, Oprah?"

Sneering companionably, he settled down onto the floor. Well crap. He should have known that wasn't an open invitation for a heart to heart.

"Seriously dude, how do you feel?"

"You're such a girl. I'm _fine._"

"Don't you miss her?"

The voice was quiet, sad, and made me frown. What was he…Then it clicked. He was talking about Natalya.

"No."

With some surprise, I realized it was true. I really didn't miss her. That nagging ache that had been tugging at my insides for the last three days, that need to find her and have her close, was gone. There was no need to defend, no mixed loyalties. It was like…

It was like I'd never imprinted at all.

"Yeah, me either."

So we were free of the bitch. Why didn't he look happier about it? As soon as I found out how Jaz was doing I was going to go out in the woods, get furry and howl at the moon for a while to celebrate. Nothing said "Born Again Bachelor" like not having to apologize for acting like an animal.

"She's never going to forgive me, is she?"

"Dude, she's a freaking succubus. She's the bad guy, remember? Who the hell cares?"

Embry rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Not her, you idiot. Andy."

"Ah."

"I was an ass."

Understatement of the century. Andy's tear-streaked face danced through my mind, another in a long line of crying women over the past two weeks, all of which could be laid at Natalya's doorstep. I wanted to tell him it was too little, too late to realize he'd been a jerk. He deserved what he got. Then I remembered the marks on Jaz's arms the night of Leah's wedding.

Glass houses and all that.

"Yeah, you were."

He looked over at me, his eyes filled with misery.

"What the hell am I gonna do?"

I shrugged.

"Dude, don't ask me. I have no idea. I know if it was me, I'd start kissing some serious amounts of ass. Fast."

"Right. Right."

Taking a couple of deep breaths and dipping his head like a prize fighter preparing for a match, Embry headed down the hall. I felt for him. I really did. Carlisle's demon of an ex (how often did you get to say that and mean it?) had wreaked a lot of havoc in a relatively short amount of time. Embry had it bad for Andy years before they said "I Do", and in less than two weeks he had screwed it all up. It was going to take a lot of love, understanding and forgiveness to pick up the pieces of their marriage.

The last time I'd seen Andy, she hadn't exactly been in a forgiving mood.

"Quil."

Voice somber, Carlisle stepped out of the room. The blood drained from my head and joined my stomach in a steady plummet for the floor.

"How is she?"

Hesitating, he looked back over his shoulder before pulling the door shut behind him.

"She woke up just long enough to answer some questions before slipping back under. She seems to be in perfect health other than some mild dehydration and the desperate need for a good meal, but she's groggy. It's as though she's been drugged…although I suspect it's not quite that simple." He sighed, scrubbing his hands along the side of his neck in a very human gesture of frustration. He had to have picked that up from Jake. "Bottom line is, I think she's going to be okay, but I want to keep her here for the next 48 hours to make sure."

"Sounds good."

He started to turn away, then stopped.

"You're welcome to stay. She was asking for you. I'll have Es…Alice bring you something to eat."

It was impossible to miss the pain in the tightness of his shoulders and the stiffness of his back. In the past 72 hours the man had found out his old girlfriend still had a score to settle, lost his wife and become a whipping boy for his children, who blamed him for not doing more to prevent their mother's death. Even for a vamp, that had to be rough. I lightly squeezed the icy arm hanging by his side.

"How are you doing with all this?"

A chill ran down my spine when he turned to meet my eyes. There was no life in the dull amber orbs staring back at me.

"I'm doing as well as can be expected," he said simply, then walked away.

That soft voice in my head nudged me to chase after him, but I had no idea what to say and the closed door behind me beckoned. Promising myself I'd keep an eye on him for the next couple of days to make sure he didn't do anything stupid (who would have thought I'd be putting a vampire on suicide watch?) I stepped into the darkened room and walked over to the still figure lying on the bed.

"Fragile" wasn't a phrase I'd often associated with Jaz. The fact that she could wipe me out just by thinking about it, and the fact that most of the pack lived in fear of pissing her off, made it easy to forget the magic she carried didn't make her any less human. Now she looked soft. Breakable. Like someone I should have been taking care of, instead of always assuming she could take care of herself.

And if I said that to her face I wouldn't be able to walk for a week.

"Hey."

The raspy voice was followed by a harsh cough, then a hand flailed toward the styrofoam cup and lid on a stand by the edge of the bed. I had to laugh at the blissful look on her face when she swallowed half its contents in one gulp.

"Oh, that's good." She smiled over at me. "Thanks."

"No problem." I smiled back, and for a second something warm and intangible shimmered in the air between us. Then it was gone, and I didn't have a clue what to say. What do you tell your best friend after you dump her for a psychotic demon that wants to wipe the pack off the face of the planet? Especially after said demon leaves her lying in a hospital bed looking like something someone dragged out of a bad Resident Evil flick? Somehow "I'm sorry" just didn't cut it.

"Stop it."

A hand reached out to brush lightly over mine. Without thinking I flipped mine, palm up, and laced my fingers through hers.

"Stop what?"

"Feeling guilty. I can feel you hating on yourself all the way over here." Thumb lightly brushing against the back of my hand, she smiled gently. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault…except maybe the Volturi. If you have to blame somebody, blame them."

"I know." When she didn't look convinced, I added, "I know. There was no way I could have known what was going on. She took advantage of me, messed with things she shouldn't have been able to mess with and generally made my life into one huge freaking clusterfuck. I know that. Doesn't mean there isn't still a part of me kicking my own ass up, down and sideways for not figuring out what was going on sooner."

Squeezing her fingers, I added, "And it definitely doesn't stop me from feeling like shit about the fact that if I hadn't gotten hurt she wouldn't have come here, and she never would have grabbed you and Billy."

"Uh huh." Jaz tipped her head thoughtfully. "Tell you what. Next time a psychotic vampire cat wants you dead, explain to it that you don't have the time or the inclination to be injured and he should just move on to someone else, thank-you-very-much. Let me know how that works out for you."

"Smart ass."

"Takes one to know one."

I stuck my tongue out at her, and she stuck hers out at me, and we laughed like a couple of idiots. With her hair and face backlit by the warm glow of the night lights in the room she looked like a dirty, unrepentant fairy. I felt something warm and slippery shift in my chest and, without thinking, lifted her hand to brush my lips across her fingers. Her eyes widened with horror.

"No," she said, jerking her hand back and scrambling off the other side of the bed, almost falling when her feet tangled up in the covers. "No, no, no, no, no."

"What?" I frowned, confused. What had I done? Was it the kiss? Alright, so I probably shouldn't have done it. Only an idiot (or an asshole) would think we could pick up where we left off after the last few weeks, and I wasn't an idiot. Most of the time I wasn't an asshole either, but that's beside the point. I could understand her getting pissed. Pissed didn't explain the panic stamped on her face as she backed across the room though. Her eyes were wild as she frantically shook her head.

"I didn't want this. Damn it!" she shouted to no one in particular. "I didn't want this! Do you hear me?"

"What are you talking about?" She stumbled, teetering and almost falling when her legs gave out. For the second time that night I caught her seconds before she hit the floor. "Ouch! Damn it Jaz!" I managed to duck another swipe from those kitty cat claws of hers. Those damn things actually hurt. Pulling both her hands into one of mine and holding her up with the other, I gave her a quick shake. "You're going to hurt yourself. What the hell's going on?"

Eyes blind, she thrashed in my grasp.

"I told her. I told her I didn't want this. But she did it anyway."

"Did what? Who is she?"

"Natalya." Dragging in a deep breath, she looked me square in the face. "Payment for services rendered. I'm so sorry Quil. I swear to you, I told her I didn't want this. You have to go. You have to go now."

"Go? Go where?" I gave her another quick shake. "Snap out of it and start making some damn sense!"

"You need to go." The hysteria was suddenly gone, like someone had flipped a switch, replaced with that same cool, reasonable tone she used to convince her patients that shots didn't hurt and the pill that tasted like crap wasn't going to taste like crap. "It's not too late. You need to stay away from me Quil. Go. Just go. I'll stay away from you, I promise, and maybe we'll both get out of this in one piece."

"I'm not going anywhere." Looking down into her calm, white little face I felt that same curl in my gut, that shifting in my chest. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew I sure as hell wasn't going anywhere when she was this worked up. With a room full of surgical implements, she was likely to hurt herself. Or me. Even odds on which would happen first.

"You don't understand. You have to. We don't have a choice." Tugging gently, she pulled her hand out of my grasp and ran it along the side of my face. The sadness in her eyes was…indescribable. "Don't you see? We never had a choice."

"Never had a choice about what?"

Sighing, Jaz stepped back, tugging her other hand out of fingers that had gone slack to stand in front of the window. She stared blankly out at the night sky, wrapping her arms around her waist as if she was somehow oozing apart.

"No one walks away from the Volturi and lives to tell about it, Quil. She was going to give them Billy if I didn't use my magic to cut her bonds. The son of the alpha in exchange for her freedom."

The words slammed into my gut like a double barreled shotgun. The thought of the laughing, happy toddler I'd come to love in the hands of the Volturi was horrifying.

"Yes, that's what I thought too," Jaz said softly, not even turning around. "What Aro would have done to him before he killed him…well. It's impolite to play with your food, but I think in this case he would have made an exception. I couldn't let that happen."

"No, of course you couldn't." I walked over to her, lightly laying my hands on her arms. She sighed and curled back into the heat of my body, settling her head against my shoulder like she'd done a thousand times before. Gently brushing my chin against her hair, I murmured, "You did what you had to do to get you both out of there alive. No one's going to hold that against you."

Jaz laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, that wasn't the bargain. She was going to do that anyway. I think…I think she was as disgusted by what she was going to do as I was. She was just colder about it. No, freedom wasn't my payment. You were."

"Me?"

"Mmmm. You. All bonded and imprinted and tied up with a shiny gold bow."

That little bitch. What, it wasn't bad enough that she'd yanked my chain once? Just because she _could_ screw with my bonds, she thought she had the god-given right to do it anytime she damn well pleased? Fury was cold, racing like ice through my veins as the words sank in. Confusion, however, was hot on its heels. Why? What did she think she would accomplish? It took me a minute, but eventually the need for answers outweighed the need to rip something apart.

"Why me?"

Slipping out from under my hands, she turned to face me.

"The fact that you even have to ask me that tells me I did the right thing. You're an idiot, Quil," she said softly. "You've always been an adorably clueless idiot, and I've always gone along with it because it was easier that way. But I almost lost you, and now I'm going to have to let you go, and I just can't do it anymore. I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you for years. I think I started falling the first night I saw you sitting on Bella's floor, and I haven't stopped since."

My head was reeling. A choked claustrophobia started crawling up the back of my throat.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't want to see the look on your face I'm seeing right now." With a sigh, she reached up to cup the sides of my face. "You don't love me. I know that. I've always known that, just like I've always known your wolf didn't want anything to do with me. I figured hey, who cares, right? I'll just take as much as I can, as long as I can, and say goodbye with a smile when the time comes. I didn't want you to feel like you had to give any more than you were ready to give, you know?"

She stepped back and turned away again, but not before I saw the damp crystal trace a silent river across the freckles that stood out in stark relief against her pale skin.

"And I sure as hell didn't want you like this, which is why you need to leave. Now."

"Jaz…"

"Please."

Back stiff, silhouetted against the moonlight streaming in through the window, she looked like the picture of hope and heartbreak all rolled into one. I knew I was supposed to say something, but once again I didn't have a damn clue what. Was I supposed to lie? Make her promises I didn't know if I'd be able to keep? I wanted to, and I didn't know why, so I kept my mouth shut. It seemed better that way.

I did know, however, that I couldn't stand to see her cry. Without saying a word I scooped her up into my arms, set her on the bed as gently as I could and, with one last look at the tear-streaked face turned stubbornly away from mine, walked out of the room.


	25. Chapter 25

**Jaz**

Maybe I overreacted a little.

All right, maybe I overreacted a lot. And maybe, after he left, I felt like an idiot. But I couldn't stand it. He was just sitting there, with that look in his eyes like…like…Well, okay, I knew he hadn't imprinted on me. That was something. But he was staring at me like he loved me. Like I mattered. Like maybe, just maybe, we actually had a future. After five years, if he didn't feel it he didn't feel it. It was impossible to believe that anything less than an act from down under was going to make him change his mind.

Nope. Better to shut it down now, before we killed any chance to stay friends after all this. We could give each other a pretty wide berth for, oh, say, the rest of our lives, right? No big deal.

Yeah, sometimes I thought I was a total ditz too.

"Jeez Jaz, wha'd you do to wolf boy? He looks pissed."

David lounged against the door jamb, his muscular frame silhouetted by the warm glow of the hallway lights. Hair tousled, an amused smile on his lips, he was definitely _not_ what I needed hot on the heels of my fight with Quil. No matter how wrong Natalya had been about anything else, she'd been right on the money there. I wouldn't be happy with David until I'd managed to purge my system of anything and everything even remotely related to Quil Ateara, and something told me he wasn't going to be willing to wait that long.

My thoughts must have been written all over my face, because his smile turned wry.

"Yeah, I had a feeling it was something like that." Shrugging, he strolled into the room and sprawled out in the chair Quil had been sitting in when I woke up. "For what it's worth, he's a lucky guy."

"I don't think he'd agree with you."

I hadn't really planned on discussing any of this with anyone, especially him, but when he just arched an eyebrow and reached out to squeeze my hand it all came tumbling out. Apparently some things never changed. Even after a decade of hard feelings, David still had a great shoulder to cry on. He just patiently rubbed the back of my fingers while I dumped the whole confused, messed-up saga right in his lap.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

Miserable, I scooted across the bed so I could lay my head on his shoulder. The heat from his body was comforting, as was the gentle scrape of his chin when he rubbed it across my hair.

"Maybe a little bit."

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me," I grumbled, lifting my head. He just chuckled and used his chin to nudge it back down again.

"I said maybe. And only a little bit. Bottom line is, it's a crappy situation. On one hand, I'd love to bust his face for acting like an ass when you finally 'fessed up. On the other, you said yourself the two of you have been playing it cool for the past however many years. It probably never occurred to him that you might eventually start wanting more. Which still makes me want to bust his face for acting like an ass."

Laughing, I nuzzled up against him, breathing in the cool, crisp smell of his shirt and the slightly stringent stench of the antibacterial gel Esme had kept by the kitchen sink for as long as I'd known her. He'd been pilfering something to eat in the not-so-distant past.

"You always know just what to say to cheer a girl up."

David chuckled. Then his voice grew sober.

"You can't avoid him forever, you know. Not if you're going to stay here."

"The Devil's always in the details."

"You could come back with me."

"Oh, David…"

Oh boy. I pushed back to look up into his. Hadn't we just talked about this? All right, so I never actually _told_ him I didn't want to try and pick up where we'd left off. Not yet, anyway. But he'd never been slow.

"Has anyone ever told you you'd make a terrible poker player? Your face is like an open book." Damn him, he was actually laughing at me! "That's not what I meant. Although the offer is still on the table. I'm just saying!" he said, raising his hands innocently. "Wouldn't want any misunderstandings between us. But I was actually thinking that if you really wanted to leave Wolf Boy in the past, it would be a lot easier to do if you didn't have to see him every day. You could ride back down with me. I can guarantee you wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to stay."

Understatement of the year. I knew Nathaniel would welcome me home with open arms, and even if he didn't I could always stay with Orrin, or Eli and his wife. It would be a much-needed, a chance to get my head on straight, but…Bella and Billy and Jake were here. And Max. And Carlisle, who had always been there for me when I needed him. Over the years, they had become my family. They'd welcomed me, loved me, supported me. Could I really walk away just because I was afraid that a stupid demon had refused to listen, and I'd spend the rest of my life trying to work up the willpower to remind Quil over, and over, and over again that he didn't really want me?

They could always come and visit.

"Take your time, think about it. I don't need an answer right now." David gently extricated his fingers from mine and bent down to kiss me on the forehead before standing up. "Jacob, Bella and Max are dying to see you. I had to do some fast talking to get a few minutes alone with you before they came barging in here en masse."

Pausing where the darkness of the room met the light spilling in from the hallway, David spoke in a low, grave, serious voice. "You're sure this is over?" He flicked his finger between the two of us. Guilt spread through my belly.

"Pretty sure. At least for right now. I just…I'm not ready to be with anyone else."

"I see." I pleaded with him with my eyes, begging him to understand. He studied me intently. Then a small smile quirked the corners of his lips.

"In that case, do you think Max would go out with me?"

My jaw dropped. Then I reached behind my head, grabbed a pillow and let it fly. What a jerk. David laughed, dancing merrily out of the way and letting the pillow fly harmlessly into the wall.

"That's a 'no', then?"

"That's a 'not a chance in a hell," I promised.

"Oh, well. Just thought I'd ask."

Grinning cheekily, he disappeared out into the hallway, leaving me shaking my head behind him. What the hell was that? David and Max. I mulled the idea over for about two seconds, and the picture made me smile.

She would eat him alive.

"Should we go out and come back in again?"

Max stood at the foot of the bed, eyebrow raised. Jake towered over her, arms wrapped around Bella, fingers lightly stroking the skin on her forearms. The drool marks on her shoulders told me Rosalie had probably grabbed Billy on their way down.

"What?"

"You were giving me this incredibly sinister smile. Very cat that ate the canary. I was wondering if we should go out and come back in again so you could spit it out and finish whatever world domination thing you had going on in here."

"Dumbass." I smiled at all of them with affection. I was going to miss them all, so much. "I was just ruminating on something David said before he left."

"Oh?" Max nodded to Bella and Jake, and the three of them huddled around the bed. "Did he declare his undying love and appreciation and ask you to move back to the Mojave, where he could keep you barefoot and pregnant from now until death do you part?"

She was kidding, but the picture she painted made me cringe.

"Half right. I think we're going to skip that whole barefoot and pregnant thing, thanks."

"So you are going back?"

This from Bella, who looked incredibly sad as she squeezed my fingers. Smiling ruefully, I squeezed back.

"I think so. At least until things settle down a little bit. It's just…it's all a little too much right now."

"Understandable," Bella said softly. "You've been through so much the past week. We all have." She paused, looking up at Jake. "It's over now though, right? We can start getting back to normal."

Jacob sighed, wrapping his arm around his wife.

"We can…but are you sure you want to? What about Italy?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned, looking confused. "Natalya was just stirring up trouble, remember? It's over now. Better. _I'm _better. I'll just give Edward back his tickets. He'll understand."

I held my breath.

"Don't."

The air whooshed out in one quick, strangled burst. He didn't really just say that….did he? No, he must have. Max and Bella looked just as gob-smacked as I felt.

"Don't…what?"

"Don't give him back the tickets. Take them, got to Italy."

Bella's eyes filled with tears.

"Are you saying you…don't want me anymore? You want me to leave?"

"No!"

Spinning her to face him fully, Jake reached up to brush her tears away.

"Bells, honey, I haven't known what it feels like to not want you since the first time I saw you standing next to that POS truck I fixed up for you when you moved back to Forks. I love you. I want you here, with me, for the rest of our lives."

"Then why?" She stared up at him, eyes drowning in bewilderment. Max leaned forward, propping her elbows on the bed and watching the drama unfold with avid curiosity on her face. Unable to resist, I flicked her arm, laughing at the filthy look she gave me. The couple on the other side of the bed didn't even notice.

"You deserve to be happy."

"I _am_ happy." Reaching up, she wrapped her hands around his face. I could feel the bewilderment and desperation rolling off of her from where I sat. "I'm happy here, with you."

Squeezing her hands, he dropped them back into his lap. Bella jerked back like she'd been slapped.

"No you're not. Not really. If you were, she wouldn't have been able to do any of this. And as much as I hate to agree with that bitch, she was right. You're too smart to spend the rest of your life trapped on this reservation, and I'm way too selfish to let you go and find someone who can give you everything I can't."

"Jake…"

"Shut up Bells, I'm talking." He laughed at the mutinous look on her face. "I know you love me. Knew it before you did. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to Italy. Take Billy, and take an entire damn contingent of bodyguards with you. I know the Cullens are all planning to go."

"How did you…?"

"I'm good like that." At her skeptical look, he added sheepishly, "And Cullen may have said something about it when I threatened to pound his face in."

"Jacob!"

"Don't give me that look. There was no way in hell I'd send the two most important people in my life halfway around the world without making sure they would be taken care of." Pausing, he smiled. "I'm sending Colin and Brady with you too. Just in case."

"You mean you don't want the Cullens to have all the fun if the Volturi attack."

Jake's grin went wolfish at Max's words.

"Well, yeah."

We all laughed, and Bella threw her arms around her husband.

"You idiot," she murmured, planting a kiss on his lips. "You're sure about this?"

"Go. Have fun. Eat lots of gnocchi. Then come back to me."

"Always."


	26. Chapter 26

**Quil**

"You're an idiot."

Amused, I tipped back in my chair and propped my feet on the table. Oh, the things you could do when the lady of the house was on her way to Europe with her ex. Like put your feet on the table. Or mock your best friend for suddenly discovering his domestic side.

Jake, up to his elbows in soap suds, looked over and arched an eyebrow. All he needed was a frilly apron and it would have been perfect.

"_I'm_ an idiot? I'm not the one stupid enough to risk life and limb putting my feet up on Bella's table."

"Ah, but Bella isn't here. For the next 12 months we don't have to worry about feet on the table or shoes on the rug or any of those other things you can't do when there are women around."

"Mmmm."

Setting the last dish in the drainer, Jake pulled the plug. A familiar glugging sound filled the room, and my eyes drifted shut. It was so…peaceful. No kids. No drama. And thank the Lord, no women. I drifted happily in a male-filled dreamland where Jake and I would spend the next year sitting on his couch chugging beer and watching the massive television he'd bought to replace the one we sold before we left Florida.

The next thing I knew I was falling face first into the hard wooden table.

"Shit!"

A loud cracking sound echoed off the walls of the tiny house. Blood bubbled before pouring freely over my face and down the back of my throat, thick against my tongue. I ignored the part of me that jumped gleefully at the taste and grabbed for the napkins, glaring at the sniggering asshole that just knocked my feet onto the floor.

"You jewk! You bwoke my nose!"

"Bella would have done a whole lot worse. Still may when she gets back," he added casually, walking over to the freezer and pulling out one of the dozens of ice packs Bella kept on hand for when we dragged in after one scrape or another. The girl had been running with the wolves way too long. "I'm pretty sure there's no statute of limitations on that sort of thing."

"How the hell's she gonna know?" I complained, already knowing the answer. Jake would tell her before her feet finished hitting the tarmac. How the guy managed to be an alpha wolf when Bella all but owned him was so far beyond me, it wasn't even funny.

The ice felt like heaven against the growing lump on my face. It would be fine in a couple of hours, but right now it hurt like hell. Catching the towel that came flying through the air (and Jake's pointed look at the puddle of blood on the floor) I growled.

"Dude, if you're going to be a pansy the whole time she's gone this is going to be a long year."

Jake snorted, taking the bloody towel from me and rinsing it out in the sink.

"Why'd you let her go, anyway?"

All right, so it was more like 'Wh'd u wet hew gwo?" No one ever tells you a broken nose is going to give you a massive speech impediment. Fortunately, with the amount of time we spent breaking each other's bones Jake was good at understanding gibberish.

"Because I didn't have any right to tell her to stay."

"The hell you didn't. Seems to me she gave you that right when she said 'I do'."

"Ha." Jake slapped me on the shoulder, then walked into the living room. Sprawling out on the couch, legs comfortably draped onto the floor, arms flung across the back, he looked up at me with a smug, superior smile. "That, my friend, is why I never ask for your advice on my love life. You really are completely clueless."

"Bullshit."

I thought about joining him on the couch, then changed my mind. Knowing my luck he'd 'accidentally' smack me in the nose again. Propping myself against the edge of the doorway, ice pack still firmly pressed to my face, was definitely the better part of valor.

"Dude, my girl's coming back at Christmas. And Valentine's Day. And I get to fly out with Carlisle when the baby comes. Sam said he'd babysit. Should be alright for a week or so, now that nobody's keeping any secrets. And she'll be home next summer." Gloating, he added, "You, on the other hand, managed to chase your girl all the way down the coast. And the last time I talked to her she didn't have any intention of seeing you again. Ever.

"So from where I sit, you're the idiot. I, on the other hand, get major brownie points for being sensitive and mature. Which, in case you were wondering, translates into sex. Lots and lots of sex. Which is something else you're not going to be getting for a very, very long time."

It took me a minute to get past the extremely disturbing image of Jake and Bella getting it on. I mean, I knew they did. The fact that they had a kid together (and Jake couldn't keep his hands off her ass) made it no secret. But since Jake wasn't the type to kiss and tell this was the first time in a long time I'd had to hear about it.

Then the rest of what he said sank in, yanking me away from the wall like a puppet on a string.

"Jaz left?"

The withering look on Jake's face made me cringe.

"You know, for a guy with supernatural senses, you're not very observant. Or you're just a bigger ass than I thought you were. She's been gone for a week."

Something that I wasn't quite ready to admit was panic clawed at the bottom of my throat. She hadn't said anything about leaving the last time I'd talked to her, which was…was…

More than a week ago, that was for damn sure. I hadn't meant to avoid her. Keeping my distance had just seemed like a good idea until I was ready to deal with the huge elephant she'd dropped into the room. She probably thought I was...that I...

Shit.

"Where? Why?"

"If you can't figure it out, I'm certainly not going to tell you." The mockery slipped from his face. "You hurt her. Bad. So if you're too stupid to go after her and tell her you love her, I wash my hands of the whole thing."

The breath whooshed out of my lungs like I'd been kicked in the solar plexus. That was the second time in the last two weeks someone had tossed the "L" word into the conversation, and it hit me just as hard coming from Jake as it had coming from her.

"I'm not in love with her."

The mocking smile was back in place, but it had turned faintly pitying.

"Aside from the psycho demon bitch, have you even _looked_ at another woman in the last 5 years?"

"Of course I have…"

"…Not," he finished. "Tell me one woman, just one, that you've been with that really mattered since you started seeing Jaz and I'll admit you're right. I'm betting you can't do it."

Of course I'd seen other women. There was…well, this one time…Shit. Cold seeped down to my bones, spread down to my toes. Jake was right. I _hadn't_ started a relationship with any other women, aside from the most basic kind, since I'd started seeing Jaz. It hadn't even occurred to me because…because…

My mind shied away from drawing the obvious conclusion, but my breath came in short pants as the little voice in my head finished the sentence for me. Because I spent all my time with Jaz. Because with Jaz around, I didn't need anyone else. I'd been so focused on keeping our relationship free of strings and ties and entanglements that I hadn't felt those strings slowly tightening, drawing me in and tying me up in knots that no amount of supernatural freakiness was going to unravel.

And now, because I'd been too stupid to realize it, she was gone.

"It's about damn time."

Jake's voice drifted from somewhere outside my head, floating while my vision tunneled. Damn it. I was _not _going to pass out. Breathe. One…two…three…Dragging air into my lungs, I watched in relief while the room cleared.

"I'm….I'm…"

Was that dumbfounded, gobsmacked voice really mine? Must have been, because that was Jake standing there smirking at me.

"Yeah, knew that already. Question is, now that _you _know it, what the hell are you gonna do about it?"

Slapping me on the shoulder, my best friend walked out of the room. Figures. Evil demons and a newborn vampire army, Jake had your back. Have a teeny, tiny personal crisis in which you realize you've been a complete dumbass for the past 5 years and everyone knew it but you, and he's got better things to do.

It was a valid question though. What the hell was I going to do?

A quick glance at the clock answered that question. I was going to run home, grab a shower, get changed and get my ass to work. I'd have to figure this out later.

A shrill screech of feminine outrage echoed down the hallway the minute I stepped through my own front door. Looked like I wasn't the only one still having girl trouble.

"Get out and stay out, you lying, cheating snake!"

Andy came barreling down the hallway, cheeks flushed and blue eyes snapping in fury, arms full of clothes. Embry was hot on her heels. Blood flowed freely down his face from a gash large enough to make even me wince. Looks like that groveling wasn't going quite as well as he might have hoped. It was going to be an even toss-up for which one of us looked worse at the end of the day.

"Damn it Andy, that hurt. What the hell are you doing?"

We both watched in disbelief as Andy tossed his clothes out onto the front porch, heading back toward the bedroom. A minute later she emerged, arms full, angry tears sparkling on her cheeks.

"I'm doing what I should have done the minute you stopped coming home in the first place. Since you obviously don't want to sleep in our bed, you can sleep outside with the rest of the dogs."

Embry watched helplessly while she stormed back toward their bedroom. I felt a little bad about standing there watching their marital disputes, but I had to go past their bedroom to get to mine and I wasn't getting anywhere near Andy when she was in this kind of a mood. Embry's head was still gushing from wherever what she'd thrown at him had hit its mark. The fact that it was still bleeding meant it was deep. No telling what she'd decide to start throwing next.

It seemed like we stood there for hours, Embry silent and stoic, me waffling between laughter and feeling sorry for my friend, while Andy tossed what was left of their marriage out the door. She finally ran out of steam (or out of stuff-I'm not really sure which). The 'snick' of the lock closing on her bedroom door when she disappeared for the last time echoed like a gong through the suddenly silent house. Without the power of her fury filling the room the house felt hollow, as if something was missing. As if the dissolution of the love in the marriage that had built it had truly been the heart, leaving a hollow shell behind.

And didn't I just sound like William Fucking Shakespeare?

"What the hell just happened?"

Embry turned from where he'd been staring blankly at the wall behind me, a befuddled numbness stamped across his face.

"I think my wife just threw me out."

Walking over to the couch he sank down, dropping his head into his hands and scraping his fingers through his scalp.

"I don't freaking believe this."

"You cheated on her man." With a quick, almost involuntarily apologetic jerk of my shoulders I plopped down on the other end of the couch. "She's gonna need some time."

"How long have you known Andy?" Embry threw me a withering look. "You really think a little bit of time is actually going to make a difference? I hurt her. She's not gonna forgive me for that."

"If you knew she wouldn't forgive you, why the hell'd you do it?" The words somehow managed to bypass my brain and come tumbling out of my mouth. Damn it. I'd been doing so good too.

Relatively speaking.

"I don't know." Scrubbing his hands against his scalp, he grimaced. "All right, yes I do. But I don't. It's just…do you know what it's like to look at someone you love and realize you're not 100% certain you care whether they live or die? For months I'd hold her and just feel nothing. Then I'd feel guilty, so I'd pull back a little more so she wouldn't be able to tell. Then _she_ came along, and it was like all those empty holes filled back up again."

With a rueful smile, he added, "But I don't have to tell you any of this, do I?"

"Pft. I imprinted on her, remember? I thought it was the coolest damn thing in the world." I stood up and wandered over to the fridge. I was already late for work, a few more minutes weren't going to hurt anything. And my tongue was all but glued to the top of my mouth. If this was going to turn into an episode of the freaking Oprah Winfrey show I was going to need something to help wash down all the emotional vomit that was getting spewed all over the place.

"Yeah, but Jaz got screwed. You had to feel bad about that."

Thunking back onto the couch and handing Embry one of the bottles of Coke I'd pulled out of the fridge, I started to deny it. Then I stopped. The truth was, even though I hadn't thought about it a whole lot, I had felt bad. And now that I knew she'd been in love with me the whole time, and I'd been in lo…ah, I'd cared about her a lot, in a way that indicated the desire for a long-term, mutually exclusive relationship…I felt like an even bigger jerk.

"Yeah, but wasn't like it was my fault. Nothing I could have done."

"That's what I keep telling myself too. And anyone else that'll listen." Embry waved vaguely at the pile on the porch, a wry smile on his face. "See how far that got me."

"So what are you going to do?"

Sighing, he pushed himself up off the couch. The utter dejection on his face tugged at my gut. I loved Andy to death, but Embry'd been my best friend since we were kids. Wasn't like I didn't know what it was like to have a demon suck your willpower dry. Problem was, I didn't know what I could do for him.

Definitely time to listen to that little voice in my head telling me it was time to move out. An image of Jaz's warm, cozy house in the woods popped into my head. I resolutely shoved it away. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Maybe he could crash with Jake. That bachelor pad just kept getting closer all the time.

Two hours later we finally made it to work. I had just rolled under the front of a 2000 LS1 with transmission trouble when...

"Funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it?"

The familiar voice floating down from the hood of the car sent prickles crawling down my spine. No way. There was no…freaking…way. Ignoring the dread slowly curdling in the pit of my stomach I reached over, deliberately wiping my hands on the hunk of cloth lying on the floor next to me before bracing them on the chassis and pushing back. I looked up…and up…and up into a pair of laughing blue eyes.

"Hello Quil."

"Natalya."

Hauling myself up with a grunt (and ignoring the giggle), I propped myself against the side of the car and studied the woman in front of me.

"I'd say it was nice to see you, but I'd be lying."

The smells of grease and motor oil blended to create a thick, almost pungent aroma in the garage, but underneath it all I could smell the faintly sweet scent of vanilla and brimstone. The hot blonde in the leather pants and halter top propped off the hood of the Mustang parked right next to me could have been any teenage boy's fantasy, but there was no way she was human. It must have taken some major supernatural juju to make my nose miss that.

"Quil." Cherry red lips pursed in an attractive mu. "That's not nice."

"Neither are you. So why don't you tell me what you're doing here?"

Natalya tipped her head to the side and pouted, then smiled. There wasn't an ounce of repentance in the sparkling eyes looking up at me.

"Fair enough. I stopped by to apologize."

"Bullshit."

"No, really." She slid off the side of the car in a smooth, sinuous motion that made my mouth water. It was all my sex-fogged brain could suddenly do to keep my tongue from hanging out. Yeah, she was the spawn of Satan (or something like that). She was also a succubus. And superbly hot. And she was here. In a garage. In black leather. On the hood of a Mustang. With just the faintest smudge of…was that motor oil on her nose?

God, I was such a dog sometimes.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry for doing what I needed to do, because I'm not. You don't hang around as long as I have and not learn that if you're going to make an omelette, you need to cook a few eggs."

"Break."

"Excuse me?"

She tipped her head, puzzled, and I found myself biting back a smile. I take that back. She looked like more of a dog right then than I did.

"Break a few eggs. If you're going to make an omelette, you need to _break_ a few eggs."

"Ah." Natalya paused, thought about it for a minute. "Your Americanisms are very strange. But no matter. The simple truth is, I like you. And I like young Jazmine. I'm sorry my actions have made so much trouble for you."

The woman works for the Volturi, arranges for my friends' kids to be viciously, brutally murdered, kidnapped and/or used as science experiments, and the only thing she's sorry about is that Jaz is pissed off at me? She really was a piece of work.

Speaking of which…

"That reminds me. When I saw Jaz the last time I had…feelings. Feelings for her I don't think I'd ever had before." I eyed her suspiciously. No need to clue her in on my little revelation from earlier. What I needed to know right then was whether or not she'd had anything to do with what was going on between Jaz and I. "She told me about your little bargain."

"And now you're wondering if how you feel is truly because you're in love with her or if I'm somehow manipulating you all over again? You should not truly have to ask." Her lovely voice lilted, tipped with an accent and an Old World formality that seemed out of place on a body obviously built for leather and lace. "But to answer your question, no, this has nothing to do with me. Jazmine asked me not to interfere, and I respect her wishes. She did, after all, manage to do what no one else has been able to do in centuries and banish my bonds to the Volturi, nearly killing herself in the process."

"What?"

Eyes wide, laughter lurking in their depths, she said innocently, "Oh, she didn't tell you? I figured she would have. Such power, that one. She brought the whole building down around our ears. It was all I could do to keep the three of us from being crushed by the backdraft. I am deeply in her debt, far too much to interfere in matters that are none of my business."

"So you didn't try to…to..?"

"…Make you imprint on her? No. Although from the baffled look on your face I almost wish I had. It would make life so much easier." Chuckling, she placed her hands on my jaw and very seriously kissed each of my cheeks. "It would be very unusual for one of your kind to imprint on one such as her, although it's entirely possible your wolf has decided anything would be an improvement after being bound to a demon. It's equally possible that you've simply fallen in love with her, and it's taking you a while to catch up to it. Either way, you're a fool for letting her go."

"But what if I do imprint again?"

There it was. That's what had been bothering me about the whole thing. The deep, abiding fear that one of these days I was going to find someone else that could make my wolf roll and writhe like a puppy, and we were going to have to do this all over again. And apparently it was bothering me enough that I was willing to talk to my (most recent) worst enemy just to figure it out.

"What if you imprint? What if the moon was made of blue cheese? Or pigs learn how to fly?" She shrugged. "What if you don't? Have you stopped to consider that?"

Turning, Natalya started walking toward the door. Then she stopped, glancing over her shoulder.

"She's here, you know. Picking up supplies from the clinic, and saying her goodbyes. If you're inclined to grovel I'd suggest you put that transmission down and go after her. The clock is ticking. And you really should put some ice on that nose."

With those cryptic words she just disappeared, leaving only the barest hint of brimstone behind to reassure me she'd actually been there and that bizarre conversation hadn't been a figment of my imagination after all. Her words all but burned a hole into my brain. What if I didn't imprint again? What if I had the chance to find a woman, a normal (well, semi-normal), grown-up human woman, and spend the rest of my life with her? Grow old, the way Sam would with Emily? The way Jake would with Bella?

Jaz loved me. She'd give me that chance. Did I really want to throw it away on the slim chance that lightening might actually strike in the same place twice?

Almost against my will my feet started running toward the door. I vaguely heard Jake's voice shouting after me, but it didn't register. The only thing that mattered was getting to Jaz.

Luck has never been a major player in my life. The fact that I lost Claire should have been your first clue to the fact that karma was a Class-A bitch, and she loved to smack me around. Hell, the fact that I turned into a freaking _wolf_ should have tipped you off somewhere in there. So when I heard the familiar sound of the engine I'd spent hours tuning until it purred like a kitten coming down the road about halfway between Forks and the Cullens', I couldn't believe it. Apparently I didn't have to believe it to do something about it, however, because only a second later my feet were pounding through the dried leaves and brush on the forest floor, sending me flying at inhuman speeds toward the road and the familiar black SUV that was coming around the corner.

I could jump in front of her, but there was no guarantee she'd be able to stop in time. And while I was pretty sure I would recover, that was a _really_ nice truck. Instead, I gauged the distance, hit the edge of the road at a run, gathered myself for one huge leap and soared, landing with a bang on the roof and firmly grasping the edges of the luggage racks to keep myself in place.

Unfortunately, I hadn't given gravity nearly enough credit. As predicted, Jaz had slammed on her brakes the minute my body hit the chassis. Unpredictably, the jolt of the stop and the accompanying fishtail sent me flying. With my hands still firmly gripping the black edges of the rack there was nowhere to go. Instead of making a smooth leap off the top of her car, I somersaulted in the air and came smashing down onto the windshield.

There isn't a windshield on earth designed to hold the force of 200 lbs of shapeshifter crashing down onto it at 55 mph. It didn't just break. It _shattered_, sending glass flying across the dash and into Jaz's lap. From where I was sitting, half stretched across the roof and half sitting on the dashboard, she didn't look happy to see me.

Shit. Nothing tells a girl you don't want her to leave like trying to kill her.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

The side door slammed with a crack that made me wince. A second later Jaz was standing in front of me, hands on her hips, looking like an outraged pixie. The breath caught in my throat, and all I could do was stare at her. How had I missed this? How the hell had I been stupid enough not to realize until it was almost too late that everything I wanted in life was standing right in front of me, all wrapped up in one pint-sized, red-headed package.

"Quil? Are you alright?"

I must have zoned out, because the next thing I knew she'd climbed onto the hood of the car and was poking at my head. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a penlight and flicked it into my eyes.

"Can you hear me? Quil? Can you follow my finger?"

A hand flashed into my vision. Unclenching the death grip I hadn't realized I still had on the top of the truck I reached out, caught the wrist it was attached to and brought it to my lips.

"Don't go."

"What?"

The shocked fury on her face had given way to concern, then confusion. Clicking off the light she still held in her hand, she frowned.

"I'm going to call Carlisle. You took a pretty good hit. He's going to want to take a look, make sure you didn't do anything major to that hard head of yours."

"I don't need a doctor. I need you. Don't go."

Did she know her face was an open book? It was all in the eyes, shifting, filling with resignation and defeat before she tugged her hand out of my grasp and slid off the hood.

"What you need to do is go to the clinic, get your head checked out and go home."

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a cell phone.

"I'll call Jake, tell him what happened." Surveying her truck, she added grudgingly, "Looks like I'd better ask for a tow truck too. I can't believe you broke my freaking windshield. What the hell were you thinking?"

"That it's a good thing you know a good mechanic?"

Rolling her eyes, she lifted the phone to her ear. The muscles in my stomach clenched. I was screwing this up, big time.

"Wait." I reached out, grabbed the phone and clicked it off. "You can call Jake in a minute. Hear me out first."

Jaz huffed impatiently, reaching out and trying to grab the phone back. Even sitting on the hood of her car I was still taller than her. I held the phone up, laughing when she jumped for it. Damn, she was cute-especially when she was standing there, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at me. Oh wait. I was trying not to make her mad. Shoot.

"Quil, there's nothing to talk about. You're not thinking straight right now. Evil demons screwing with your head, remember? Not to mention the crack you just gave it off the top of my truck. Go home. See Carlisle. Take two aspirin and call me in the spring. Hopefully by then things will be back to normal."

Panic nipped again, this time with vicious claws. I wasn't like Jake or Embry. I wasn't comfortable with all of this feelings stuff. How the hell was I supposed to make her understand if I couldn't find the words?

"I love you."

It was an even toss for who was more shocked, her or me, when it just spilled off my lips. Her jaw dropped, her eyes went glassy, and for a second I thought she was going to throw up. Yep, just the kind of reaction I'd always hoped for the first time I told a woman I loved her and actually meant it. She was going to have me institutionalized in a minute.

"Quil…"

"No, just…listen, okay?"

Setting down the phone I was still holding hostage I slid down, reaching out and grabbing both her hands so she couldn't take off. The pain in her eyes tore at me. I'd done that. I was only going to get one chance to make it right.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this whole thing was just a set up to screw with you, to screw with both of us. The thing is, I didn't imprint on you. Don't want to. Don't even think about it."

"Oh."

Freckles stood out in sharp relief against a face that went three shades paler than normal. I gave her a quick shake.

"I love you, you idiot. I think I have for a long time, I was just too stupid to realize it until now. You're everything I never knew I always wanted, and that's me saying that. Not some crazy wolf mumbo-jumbo, not some weird demon magic. Just me. Quil. The guy who eats ketchup on his pancakes and leaves his socks on the floor and will never, ever say yes if you ask me to take you shopping for shoes."

There were tears in her eyes now, and I felt every one of those tears like a knife in the gut. Desperate, I reached up to frame her face.

"I know I screwed up. I was stupid, and blind, and thoughtless, and insensitive, and any other words you want to toss my way. God knows I deserve them. But I'm hoping that maybe, while you're tossing those words around, you'll decide to toss me a second chance too. Because there's nothing I want more right now than that second chance with you."

There was nothing more to say, nothing more I could say. Staring down at her, I desperately willed her to understand. I was sunk if she didn't.

"What about your wolf? What happens if one day you do imprint on somebody else?"

"You know what? I don't give a shit." The minute I said it, I realized it was true. I didn't care. I was so sick and tired of everything in my life being dictated by my other, furrier self. "I imprinted once, and it was amazing, but it was also scary and unnatural and…well, everything that's wrong for me. Then I met you, and you made everything right. And even that…whatever it was that Natalya did to me didn't change that. Nothing could."

"You dumped me. Walked away without looking back, remember?" The accusation, and the heat behind it, stung, but I was gratified to see some color in her cheeks. "Nobody's ever hurt me that way. I didn't think anybody could. I don't care how much I still love you, I'm not about to spend the rest of my life waiting around for that to happen again."

"I can't stand thinking about you with him."

"What?"

"I can't stand it." Stroking my thumbs along her cheeks, I murmured, "I was sick with jealousy at Leah's wedding. I couldn't stand the thought of anyone making you happy but me. That night…" Laughter barked out. "Jesus Jaz, I forgot every ounce of common sense I ever had when I dragged you off that dance floor. All I wanted to do was prove to both of us you were still mine. And that was when I _was_ imprinted, no matter how bizarre that imprint might have been."

"I thought you were just being an ass."

The smile that was slowly slipping through the tears was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Relief rushed through me when she lifted her hands and ran her fingers down my arms.

"I love you. You know that. I didn't want to. I tried not to. I was all set to forget about you. And I'm not sure I can do that again." Her voice was soft and serious. "If I believe you, if I give you that second chance and something goes wrong, I'm not sure I'll be able to turn around and walk away again."

"You want guarantees? I can't give them to you. Nobody can. You know that better than I do. But I swear, in front of you and God and my nosy ass friends who think I don't know they're out there, that I will do the best I can to make sure you don't regret it." Bending down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead and closed my eyes, praying to whatever gods watched over the stupid that she would listen. "I'm going to drive you crazy. You're going to drive me crazy. There's always going to be that small, furry part of me that's not 100% sure I'm doing the right thing. It'll never be perfect. But it'll be right."

The silence hanging in the air as her eyes desperately searched my face had never been so loud. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small, furry nose poking out of the woods. Embry. Like I hadn't smelled him and Jake the minute they'd arrived. Worse than a couple of nosy old biddies.

Oh well. The rest of my life was riding on what happened in the next five minutes. I'd worry about teaching them some manners later.

"Are you sure?" The tears bubbled over when she spoke, and her hands clenched into tight fists on my wrists. She was killing me. "You better be sure. If I decide to stay, you'd better be damn sure this is what you want, because I'm not…"

Her voice cut off with a squeak when I caught her lips, glorying in the soft taste I'd been afraid I was never going to feel again. Her hands slid down my arms and up around my neck, tugging me closer as my ears caught the sound of rustling. Then a howl broke the silence and Jake and Embry walked out onto the path, tongues lolling out, eyes rolling.

Jaz giggled.

"You didn't tell me you were bringing backup," she murmured, her lips still close enough to brush against mine when she spoke.

I didn't bother answering, just dipped my head again to lose myself in the sweet, sweet relief of having her back in my arms. They'd wait. We had all the time in the world.

_**Author's Note: **__Phew! Geez, these two really gave me a run for my money. They finally got it together though, and I'm not sure which one of us was happier about it! _

_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, and for lending me your enthusiasm to keep going when I got stuck. I'd like to extend an extra special "I love you" to justafan13 for nominating Jaz for the original character competition. I'm so glad you guys are as crazy about her as I was! _

_Tim C Girl and Cretin, I couldn't have done it without you guys. _

_I hope you're all wonderfully happy that Jaz finally got her happy ending. _

_This is the second in a three part trilogy, and while I'd hoped to be able to at least post the prologue for "Hell's Bells" here for you I'm not quite there yet. I've got some really cool things in store to send these guys out with a bang, and I want to make sure everything lines up just so. _

_Jake's going to be struggling to keep the pack under control now that he's flying solo…and there's someone else who thinks he ought to have his job. Carlisle petitions the pack for a pack-assisted suicide, claiming that 300 years is long enough to walk the earth and the Volturi are no longer an option. Embry and Andy are going to have to figure out what to do with the crumbling shell of their marriage. Max is about to discover that sometimes true love hides in the most unexpected places. _

_And in the middle of all of it is Bella and her family as they set the stage for the final showdown with the Volturi, deciding who holds the power once and for all. _

_I'm hoping to get started on "Hell's Bells" right after the New Year, so stay tuned! (I'll post the prologue here as well as on its own board, for all of you receiving updates on this story that want to find out how their story ends.) In the meantime, I look forward to hearing what all of you have to say about the ending of "Here There Be Demons". _

_Happy Holidays!_


	27. PrologueHell's Bells

_**Happy New Year everyone! As promised, here is the prologue to "Hell's Bells", the third and final installment following "Out from Under" and "Here There Be Demons". As always, all reviews are welcome, and to those of you who have been following since the beginning, I can't thank you enough! You'll have to let me know what you think. All canon characters belong to Stephanie Meyer alone. They just let me take them out and play with them every once in a while! **_

**The rest of this story can be found at .net/s/6621698/1/Hells_Bells. **

**January**

**Jacob**

"We're gathered here today because Dr. Cullen has presented me with an…interesting request. One I think everyone here deserves to hear before I make a decision one way or another."

The formality in my tone made me wince. It was just unusual enough to have everyone sitting up a little straighter…and Quil and Embry looking at me like I'd lost my mind. Executive decisions weren't really my thing. And they _really_ weren't my thing when it came to the Cullens, since our treaty with them affected the entire pack.

Well hell. After the conversation I'd had that morning, I wasn't too certain about my sanity either. Guess I shouldn't be surprised when everyone else was starting to wonder too.

"Dr. Cullen."

Sue Clearwater, who had taken Harry's place on the tribal council after his death (and had the potential to make my life a living hell, since she was dating my wife's father), stood up held out a hand to the man standing next to me. Carlisle Cullen, doctor, father, founder of the Olympic coven. One of the best men I had ever met.

And the whole reason I was standing there, shifting uncomfortably while 30+ pairs of eyes pinned me to the spot. Wet drops trickled down my back as Carlisle shook Sue's hand with his usual gracious charm and a warm smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Great. Fabulous. My first major act as pack alpha and I was sweating like a stuck hog. Yeah, that, and the stench of my fear, ought to go a long way toward instilling confidence in the pack that I wouldn't totally screw this up. Damn it, why couldn't Cullen have done this six months earlier? Then it would have been Sam's problem instead of mine.

'Because he couldn't do it when everyone else was here,' whispered the voice in my head. Stupid common sense. What he was suggesting was so stupid, it was no wonder he'd done it while the rest of his coven-his family- was in Italy playing guard dog for Bella, Billy and the baby. It was crazy. Insane. Completely bonkers. It was…

'What you've been dying to do since you first out the bloodsuckers were real.'

'Yeah, but not like this. Jesus.'

'Then how?'

'I don't know, just…not like this.'

"Um, Jake? You gonna say something, or you just gonna stand there sweating like a pig all night?"

Laughter rang around the circle. I smiled weakly, but now that the moment was here I was as lost for words as I had been that morning. What on earth had possessed me to think I'd be any more ready now?

The mist from the ocean swirled around my ears, dancing in the shadows before being burned away by the heat of the fire. Waves crashed against the shore, and somewhere up in the hills a wolf tipped back its head and howled at the moon. My mind narrowed to those tiny details, unable to wrap itself around the enormity of what I was about to do.

A cool, reassuring hand landed on my shoulder.

"Perhaps it would be easiest if I explained myself," Carlisle suggested gently. I nodded mutely, stepping back to drop cross-legged at his feet. Hopefully the fact that I wasn't standing anymore would do something about the nausea clawing and ripping at my insides.

"The treaty between our families is an old one, and one that has sustained us for generations," Carlisle began, his voice smoothly ebbing and flowing with the tide. "Since the attack by the newborns, and through Bella's marriage to Jacob, we've been able to not only co-exist with your pack but to build a mutually beneficial relationship-a friendship-that has served us well. What I'm about to ask is going to strain the boundaries of that friendship, and for that I am truly sorry."

The crowd began to shift uncomfortably. Mentally, I screamed at Carlisle to get on with it, genuinely wishing (for what had to be the first time ever) that Edward was there so he could hear what I was trying to say and tell his father to get to the point. Unfortunately, Edward wasn't here. He was in Italy playing house with my wife while I was here playing pack politics and trying to make nice with the neighbors.

"Immortality is both a blessing and a curse." Carlisle continued. "This year marks the 375th anniversary of my change. In that time, the world has changed and, I feel, is no longer a world in which I belong. In the past a vampire seeking death could petition the Volturi, as Edward did. The end would be both quick and merciful. Because of the ill will the Volturi continue to bear us, however, this is no longer an option for my family and myself.

"That being the case, I have spoken with Jacob about renegotiating the terms of our treaty." He hesitated, searching for the right words. "As part of that renegotiation he would be willing to offer that death to me and mine at the hands of the pack should it be deemed necessary without fear of reprisal."

Silence hung in the air like a shroud while the crowd around the fire digested what he had said, and what he hadn't said. Carlisle was asking for a quick death from the only ones who were more than able to give it to him. And more than willing, as a general rule, to take down a vampire.

But…

But this was Carlisle. Carlisle, who had invented the concept of the "vegetarian" vampire to begin with. Who had come to the house and sat up all night with Billy the first time he had pneumonia. Who had arranged for counseling for both Paul and Rachel after the twins were killed this past summer. Who had threatened to thrash Edward to within an inch of his life (his words, not mine) if anything happened to Bella while they were in Italy.

The thought of killing him, no matter how eager he was to die, left a bad taste in my mouth. And man, I never thought I'd be able to say that about a vampire.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Sam's voice was deep and certain, a gross contradiction to the mass of worms shredding my intestines to ribbons. This was why he'd been a good alpha. He'd always been able to make the hard decisions in the best interest of the pack, and with fewer vampires around there would be a lot fewer of us phasing. I could almost hear him thinking it. And with Carlisle and Esme gone, and Edward living overseas, there would be little reason for the remainder of the family to continue to live in Forks.

"I have given this a great deal of thought," the vampire replied, and I thought I saw his shoulders slump with relief. "It has been weighing on me for some time that our unnatural lifespan could lead to feelings of displacement."

"Is it your lifespan causing this feeling? Or your mate's death?"

Bless Sue for being able to ask what we'd all been thinking. For 374 years Carlisle had refused to ask the Volturi to end his-life? existence?- when it had been an option. He'd thanked Bella for preventing Edward from doing the same. He'd proven over and over again that he valued life in all of its forms, and it was impossible not to draw a connection between the quiet, withdrawn man who had replaced the warm, sociable physician we'd come to know and Esme's tragic death six months before.

"I would be lying if I said it wasn't a consideration," said Carlisle, pain flashing through his eyes. "These feelings plagued me for over a century before I found Esme. She made the passing of years bearable. Now that she's gone…"

His voice broke, and I looked down at my feet to give him a moment of privacy. When I looked up Sam was standing in front of him, hands on his shoulders, gentle concern in his face. Carlisle's head was bowed, eyes fixed on the sand firmly in front of his-a gesture of submission and defeat he would have never have made only a year earlier.

"I understand your feelings. It's hard to watch those around us age and die while we live on, and there are fewer choices for your kind than for mine. But," he said when Carlisle would have spoken, "while I am sorry for your loss I can't help but feel like I'm talking to your grief, not you. And with that in mind, I can't endorse this decision."

"I understand."

Carlisle straightened up, meeting Sam's eyes before dipping his head in that Old World style I saw men use in those stupid romance flicks Bella was so fond of. Seeing him like that, spine stiff, eyes straight ahead and completely devoid of emotion, it wasn't hard to see him as he had been all those centuries ago.

"I appreciate that," Sam said softly. "That said, I also appreciate that none of us were ever meant to live forever. I assume none of your children are willing?"

"I would not ask it of them."

"And we both know what will happen if you go to the Volturi."

Wry mirth was in the bleak smile that quirked Carlisle's lips.

"It is astonishing what our bodies can live through. The Volturi have turned the study into an art form."

"Understood. So I'm going to make you a deal. Wait another year, put a little more time between you and the death of your mate-Esme," he corrected when Carlisle's eyes flashed dangerously. "After waiting 375 years to die, surely another year won't make much difference one way or the other. If, after that year, you're still certain this is what you want to do I'll do it myself."

What? Damn it, this wasn't his decision to make, no matter how fervently I'd been wishing for this to be someone else's problem just a few short minutes before. I must have moved, because Sam stepped back, instinctively yielding dominance.

"My apologies Jacob. You're correct, I overstepped."

Damn it was good to be a wolf. Your wolf just sorta knew what your human brain had a tendency to forget. Well hell, if he was going to be big about it…

"It's all good. You're right." Standing up, I looked around the circle. "That's more than reasonable, I think. And after everything Carlisle's done for us it seems like we at least owe him this much. Does everyone else agree?"

There were a handful of smattered murmurings, a few disgruntled faces among the council, but the majority nodded their heads. With both Sam and I backing him up, I hadn't expected anything else. The members of the pack sat, quiet and solemn. I knew they were all desperately glad they weren't the ones who were going to have to tear his head off. They knew Carlisle, relied on him. Which reminded me…

"Not to sound like a selfish jerk, but you're a lot more than just a pretty face around here Dr. Cullen."

"Jazmine is more that capable of taking my place. She lacks my experience but has a quick and ready mind. I've already begun drawing up the paperwork to transfer the clinic into her hands."

I nodded.

"In that case, we agree. One year. But if, after that time, you still wish to die I'd like to be the one to do it." Carlisle chuckled, and I heard a light burst of almost hysterical laughter behind me. Flushing, I muttered, "That's not what I meant. I've already said I think you're making the wrong choice. But it's not my decision to make, and if this is what you really want it just seems like…well, almost like I owe it to you to…"

Before I could wedge my foot any further in my mouth Carlisle laid his hands on my arms.

"I would consider it a great honor, Jacob, that my death be at your hands. Or claws, as the case may be."

The breath whooshed out of my lungs, grateful he'd understood. This was huge, and it just seemed like if a leader, and a good man, was going to die it should be at the hands of a friend. And after everything he'd done for our pack having that death delivered by the pack alpha was an act of respect he more than deserved.

That I was that pack alpha instead of Sam was a circumstance I was unfortunately going to live to regret.

Lost in thought, and the solemnity of the occasion, none of us noticed the quiet figures slink through the shadows and disappear into the woods.

_Meanwhile, in Italy…_

"She's here, my lord."

The man sitting at the head of room stared indolently at his fingernails. Stupid peasants. He'd known the girl was here almost the moment her feet had touched Italian soil. He just hadn't decided what he wanted to do about it yet. It may have been years, but the sting of humiliation was still fresh. And Carlisle…The betrayal at the hands of one of his own cut deep.

It was a humiliation they would pay dearly for, one way or another, and now that stupid girl had played right into his hands.

"Is that all you have for me?" he asked, bored. The man's eyes widened. He had thought his news would be welcomed by the powerful Volturi, perhaps even enough that he and his family would be rewarded. He hadn't counted on indifference.

"Yes, my lord," he stammered, confidence dissipating in front of the hawk-eyed, predatory stares of the men in front of him.

The man standing at Aro's right hand watched him with flat, dispassionate eyes. He had the look of a man who could squash the peasant like a bug with very little remorse. Or let him go. The figure quivering on the floor, all too aware of the hooded bodies closing in on him, had a feeling that this man, with his dark hair and dark eyes and unnaturally pale skin, did not truly care whether he lived or died so long as he no longer held up the workings of his court.

Aro was another story altogether. He may have appeared bored, studying the rings on the fingers of the white hands protruding from the old fashioned velour of his black bolero jacket, but his eyes flashed with fury. This was a man who did not tolerate being wronged. The news that Bella Black, nee Swan, was in Italy, with her children in tow and without the protection of her husband and his pack, should have been welcomed.

The peasant had a feeling he had just made a grievous mistake.

Glancing over to the guard on his left, Aro flicked his fingers. A pair of muscled guards with skin as pale as Aro's own appeared out of nowhere from the back of the huge courtroom, flanking him, catching his arms and pinning them behind his back.

There's a moment of clarity when you're facing your own death, followed by a moment of confusion in which you believe that somehow, if you just fight hard enough, you'll be able to escape the inescapable realization that the monsters are actually going to eat you and there's nothing you can do about it. The man fought as he'd never fought before, thrashing against the cold steel of the hands holding him back.

It's then that his executioner looks at him, really looks at him, for the first time, and fear transforms from an amorphous thing to a live wire in his belly. The eyes that pin him are not dark, as he'd previously believed, but are in fact a blazing, unnatural red. Then he nods his head and the man on his right bent down, pulling his head back to expose the flesh of the neck for his hungry teeth. In that instant the peasant realized that every story he'd ever heard but dismissed about the Volturi and their unnatural origins were absolutely true. As teeth break through flesh waves of flame flow through his veins, a fire that burns while his life's blood pours out.

The last thing he sees before his eyes flutter shut for the last time are the heads bent low over their thrones, murmuring between themselves, the third seat conspicuously empty-a monument, and a reminder, of the only time the Volturi had ever been defeated by their enemies.

Had he known what they were saying in those last moments he would have realized that his nightmares had not even come close to the reality of the situation…and he would have been a lot more grateful to be allowed to die.

"What do you intend to do about the Swan girl?"

Marcus leaned forward, head bent so their words wouldn't be overheard. Bella would have made an excellent addition to their entourage, but there were others. There were always others, with skills much more suited to their purpose than being able to block a vampire's powers.

In truth, he had always found Aro's obsession with the Swan girl ill-conceived and poorly thought out. But an obsession it was, one that had only gained fuel following Caius's death at the hands of the alpha wolf six years before. A madness burned in Aro's eyes now, one that caused Marcus no small amount of concern. That madness had started to prey on his mind, as so often happened to members of their kind that had lived too long. If it wasn't stopped it would spread, forcing him to be put down like a rabid dog.

It would be such a waste.

"A plan is in the works, not only to take care of the luscious Mrs. Black but to bring down that whole rabble." At Marcus's look of surprise, he smiled. Marcus, always thinking so small. Why content themselves with Bella when they could take them all?

It was simply a matter of time, patience, and careful planning. They were the Volturi. Time was something they had plenty of, and as for the rest? It was only a matter of time before Bella and her mutt of a husband were crawling at his feet.


End file.
